Epic of Love & Drama
by Hela Kaede
Summary: Something horrible happens to Ran and Kazuha, but can Conan and Heiji get through it? Kogoro's disappearance just adds more questions to the scene. But wait, is that Gin outside? These and more questions will be asked and answered in this on-going story!
1. The Incident

Authors' note: The following fan fiction originally began as a roleplay among many people. Within this first part there were many authors contributing to the story. However, about a quarter of the way through, the number dwindled down to two main authors. The first half of this chapter is NOT the original roleplay, but a re-writing of the original beginning to the best of the author's memory. The second half of this chapter as well as the chapters after this one are all re-written from the exact roleplay, with the only changes being spelling, grammar, or to make a sentence flow more smoothly. In this chapter the style switches around when Heiji approaches Kazuha, which is where the word-for-word roleplay story begins. Anyway, enjoy this on-going story!

-Hela Kaede & Kazuha-chan

This story is also posted here: http://holmesstudy .fopim .com /epic-of-love-drama-t197 .html (Without the spaces. It's a wonderful forum, by the way!)

--------------Chapter 1: The Incident--------------

It was a lovely afternoon in the Beika district of Tokyo. Downtown, Mouri Ran could be found browsing the shops, looking for nothing in particular. Conan was supposed to go with her, but he said that he had other plans already in place. These plans, however, were occurring only a block away.

"So. Did you find out anything new?" Conan asked, his hands in his pockets as he walked down the sidewalk.

"Not with us. Did you?" Hattori Heiji replied.

"Unfortunately, not yet. Maybe-"

"Hey! What are you doing here, Heiji?!"

The boys turned around to find Toyama Kazuha standing behind them, her hands full of shopping bags.

"I could ask _you_ the same question!" responded Heiji, his hands on his hips as he leaned toward her accusingly.

"I told you already! A new shoe store opened up here and it looked really cute, so I just had to come by!" She lifted her hands, showing the no-less-than five bags she was carrying. "So how about you? What was so important that you couldn't come here with me, but instead decided to come here on your own, hmmm?" she asked with a flat expression.

"Heiji-kun? Kazuha-chan? What are you guys doing here?" Ran came around the block, spotting them from a distance. "Conan-kun, too? Hey, what's going on?"

"Well, _I_ came here to check out the new shoe store that's been advertised in all the papers. I don't know why Heiji came here. He was just about to tell us that." She peered back at him.

"Heh, well, I came to see this kid!" He put his hand on Conan's head and made a cheesy smile. "He asked me to help him out with something, so I decided to come by and see what I could do!"

"Really?" answered Kazuha, not believing him for a moment. She leaned close to him, as if examining him, "And what exactly was it that you guys needed to work on so urgently?"

"Kazuha," Ran said softly, prompting her to turn around.

"What is it, Ran?"

Ran whispered, "It might be a guy thing. Maybe we shouldn't bother them anymore."

Kazuha reluctantly agreed. "All right, you're off the hook _this_ time, guys." She waved a finger at them, before turning back around to Ran. "So yeah, Ran-chan! Did you get to go to that new store yet? Look at this adorable pair that I found!..."

The boys sighed and walked ahead while the girls carried on talking about their shopping experiences. "I guess we won't get to discuss any cases now, will we?" Heiji said, looking at Conan.

"I guess not," Conan quietly replied, turning back to the girls.

"Oh hey, I'm getting hungry, Ran. Let's go get some lunch!" Kazuha suggested.

"Better yet, there's a new recipe I'd like to try. Let's go to my house and you can help!" Ran smiled at her.

"Good idea! Hey, are you boys coming?" Kazuha called to their backs.

The boys stopped and turned around.

"Nah, go ahead. We'll meet you back there a little later," said Heiji, as he and Conan continued walking.

"Ahh, okay," responded Kazuha, seeming a little disappointed. Ran noted her expression.

"Forget about them, they'll bother us plenty later. How about we go get started on our meal, ne?"

Kazuha smiled. "You're right. Let's go." With that, the girls turned around and started heading toward the Mouri household.

The boys walked on. "But we have almost no leads. I don't think we can get very far at all, at this rate," admitted Heiji.

"Hopefully we'll find some new clues as time goes on," said Conan. His stomach suddenly rumbled. "I'm pretty hungry. Maybe we should have followed the girls."

Heiji thought for a moment, "Actually, I am too. Let's head back." Conan nodded in agreement. As they walked, the sun began to go down. Heiji stared into the glowing sky in a bit of a daze. "Oi.. Kudou?..."

Conan looked up at him curiously, "What is it?"

"I.. I've been thinking about Kazuha a lot lately..." he continued. "And the thing is... I've been thinking of telling her that I... that I..."

Conan blinked, then began a sly smile. "Hehe... I had no idea you could blush so much, Hattori."

Heiji suddenly snapped back into reality. "Eh?! I am not!" He glared at Conan momentarily, then quickly looked away. "Never mind anyway..."

"No, no, it's fine!" Conan tried to hold back a laugh. "Really! In all seriousness, go on." Heiji tossed Conan a sour look, before taking a breath and relaxing.

"Well, now I'd rather not," he declared, walking on in silence.

The girls hurried back to the apartment, eager to begin their meal. Ran rushed up the steps and opened the front door. "I'm home!" she announced. "Hm? That's odd." She stepped into the house a bit, Kazuha followed behind her.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Well.. It doesn't seem like Dad is home. Yet, the door was unlocked."

"Did you forget to lock it?" Kazuha walked across the room and hung up her jacket while Ran shut the door behind her.

"No, I never forget it. Anyway, I'm going to the bathroom. I'll meet you in the kitchen."

"All right!" called Kazuha, moving towards the kitchen as Ran walked down the hallway. As soon as she walked through the entrance, she was grabbed harshly from behind.

"Don't worry. You stay calm and I'll be gentle." A mysterious man covered Kazuha's mouth as she struggled to break his grip. He pulled out a switchblade and held it near her chin. She screeched, trying to yell out to Ran. The man slashed across her jawbone, shooting blood across the floor. "I SAID STAY CALM AND I'LL BE GENTLE!"

But Kazuha's efforts were too late. As soon as Ran entered the bathroom, she was pulled aside in a similar fashion. "Hey there pretty. Nice to meet ya." The man grabbed at her shirt.

"AH! NO! KAZUHA, GET OUT! CALL THE POLICE! THERE'S A M-"

"Shh shh shh..." He covered her mouth as well, "There's no point in screaming. Your little friend is quite occupied, herself." Ran's eyes widened in terror as she tried to kick the man away. "There's no point in fighting it, either. Just relax and everything will be over soon." She opened her mouth and bit his fingers enough to draw blood, causing him to let go briefly and shout a few expletives. Ran dived for the door, but the man blocked it. "Oh no you don't." He grabbed her waist and pulled her toward him, taking her arms and holding them behind her. He held them there with one hand, taking out a knife with the other. "You ain't going nowhere, little lady." He shined the blade in the light, before putting it in his mouth and going to open his jeans.

Back in the kitchen, Kazuha was having no better luck. The man towered over her, reaching for her skirt. She was paralyzed in fear, but she couldn't move anyway. The man held her down with such power that it hurt.

Heiji and Conan tried to discuss their latest news a little more, but as they got closer to the house, they decided to keep quiet. They suddenly heard a scream shoot through the street, freezing both of them to the spot.

"That's coming from Ran's house." Conan turned.

"KAZUHA!" Heiji yelled, identifying the scream. The two ran up the steps as fast as they could, barging the door open.

"Hei-!" Kazuha tried to yell out to him, but the man quickly slapped her. Luckily, it was enough to tell him where she was. The man heard the boys coming and quickly fixed himself up, ready to dash out in an instant. The boys hurried into the kitchen.

"NO!! KAZUHA!" Heiji screamed, seeing her blouse and hair all askew.

"HEIJI!" she cried, tears streaming down her face. Heiji jumped at the man, while Conan called the police. The man laughed cold-heartedly.

"Even if you caught me, at least my friend's still having some fun."

Conan froze. _Ran!?_ He yelled to the police to get there immediately, then hurried down the hallway looking for her.

"RAN! RAN?! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

But the man in the bathroom got plenty of prior warning. He already straightened himself out and jumped out the window. Ran panicked, brushing through her hair with her hand and shivered, staring out the window at him. Conan pounded open the bathroom door. "RAN!" he called, running towards her, seeing bits of blood splattered on the floor. "Are you okay?! Was anyone here?!"

"He.. He went out the window!" she pointed.

"Shit!" Conan yelled, as he dashed from the bathroom to the street. The police quickly arrived, an ambulance in their wake. They caught the man in the street, as well as the man from the kitchen. As the man was dragged away, Heiji approached Kazuha.

"Kazuha, are you okay?..."

She looked away, then forced a smile. "Yeah.. I'll be all right." She stood up as the paramedics arrived. They then led her outside to the ambulance, leaving Heiji alone as she left.

Conan hurried back into the house, looking for Ran. She was sitting in the bathroom silently, facing the wall.

"Ran?..." He slowly stepped toward her. "Ran... He didn't do anything... Did he?..." He stepped closer to her. She turned around quietly.

She paused for a moment. "N-No. He didn't. I'm fine."

Conan looked down at her worriedly, "Seriously? Are you sure?"

"..Yes. Hey, Conan?"

He perked up, "Hmm?"

"Could you... Could you please leave me alone right now?"

His heart suddenly stung. "B-But, Ran-"

"I'd really rather be myself at the moment. Please?" She looked at him sincerely.

"All right..." Conan stepped aside and walked back into the living room, before following the police outside to the street. It was nighttime already, and the paramedics were discussing options with Kazuha.

"You should come with us. If you have any injuries, they will be taken care of."

"I-It's okay," she shivered, avoiding their gazes and covering her chin. "I don't have any physical injuries..." She sat in the back of the ambulance with a blanket over her shoulders. Nearby, Ran stepped outside and talked with the police, telling everything that she could remember.

Out on the sidewalk, Heiji and Conan waited. It was an awkward moment, and neither of them knew exactly what to do. Conan watched Ran from the distance, as she turned away from the police and stepped toward the street. "Ran says she's all right," he muttered. "I guess she got lucky with that." But Heiji didn't seem to pay much attention. He was literally shaking with rage.

"How DARE he attack Kazuha... Just who does he think he is?!" He wanted to destroy something, but had to hold back his anger for safety's sake.

"Calm down, she'll be all right..." Conan tried to reassure him.

"Yeah, you just say that. You wouldn't be acting so calmly if YOUR girl was attacked like that!" He yelled. He quickly got back to his senses, "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I mean, at least Ran's okay. That's something, right?" He put his face in his hand, trying not to let Conan see the tears now pouring down his cheeks.

"Hattori..." Conan said calmly.

Heiji took a deep breath. _I've gotta talk to her..._ He stood up and began walking toward her, past the police and the passers-by, as Conan stood by on the sidewalk by himself.

Heiji continued closer, until he stood right in front of Kazuha. The white light of the ambulance shone over them both, exposing the poorly-hidden tear streams tracing down their faces. He wasn't quite sure what to say, but the thick, silent wall between them had to be broken. "Kazuha..." he started. He quickly turned around to see if anyone else was near. To his surprise, Conan had conveniently turned back, and was waiting just around the wall, watching Ran as she went to the curb. Heiji let out a short smile, then looked back to the girl before him.

The street light was shining over Ran dimly as she watched them. She had looked up at the sky as she heard them talk. Kazuha looked up at Heiji, she snorted and began to laugh. "Were you crying?" she said, pointing out his tears. She smiled as she let all her laughter out. "But thank you for caring," she said, looking down and continuing to smile. "I really do appreciate it." She got up, looking down at the ground. Ran rolled her eyes over to Kazuha and Heiji. She began to blush, hearing what Kazuha was beginning to start. She quickly looked away.

Hearing Kazuha's laugh lifted Heiji's spirits more than anything in the world. He soon found himself laughing too. For a moment there was a pause, and Heiji's expression went back to seriousness. "Well, Kazuha, umm.." He looked away, beginning to blush. "You know... You can tell me anything.. right?..."

Kazuha rose a brow, "Everytime I do, you just- " She looked over his shoulder, noticing Ran saying, "Don't say it!" as she waved her arms out in the air. "Gah, what I mean is... Yeah." She looked up at Heiji, then looked away, smiling, "You're like a big brother to me. I know I can count on you." She looked up at him, still smiling. Ran sighed, also giving a smile in the background. She got up and walked down the sidewalk. Kazuha sat back down on the bumper.

Heiji took a moment to understand her words. "Like a big brother?... Oh! Yeah, totally!" He said, putting his arm behind his back with a laugh, still blushing all over. "That's... That's... Of course that's what I am to you..." He continued a nervous chuckle for a few seconds, before calming down and realizing that now was not a good time to admit anything to her.

Kazuha smiled and nodded, thinking that this was not a good time to tell him her real feelings about him. She sighed.

Conan watched curiously from the steps. After noticing that Ran was walking away, he got up and chased after her. "Are you going for a walk at this hour? Isn't it a little late?"

Ran continued to walk. She looked down at Conan, "Just needed some fresh air." She looked up at the sky and then scrolled her eyes over to Conan. "I just don't want to see those men again," she said with a smile on her face, as her eyes began to water.

Conan listened intently, unsure of what to say. "T-they were really bad men, weren't they? But at least Ran-neechan's all right!" He said, trying to smile, but finding it hard to do when Ran looked so upset.

Meanwhile, Heiji stood around for a moment. He looked up to the sky, seeing a few faint stars visible through the light. "Do you want to go back to Osaka already? Or would you rather stay here for a bit longer?"

"How about we stay here for a bit longer?" She clapped her hands together, "Please?" she asked like a child.

Heiji let out a soft smile. "Yeah, we can stay here longer if you'd like." She and Ran seemed like sisters. He couldn't dare tear them apart at a time like this. "Looks like I'm sleeping in Kudou and Mouri-san's room tonight," he thought to himself. "But," he thought, as he looked at Kazuha, "I'd do anything for her..."

Ran stopped, seeing a bakery. A fresh cream strawberry cake was advertised from the inside. She smiled brightly and looked down at Conan, "We should come here tomorrow, shouldn't we Conan?" She said, putting her hands behind her back. She sat down on a park bench, "Um, Conan?" She looked at him with a soft smile.

Conan looked up at Ran. "What is it, Ran-neechan?"

"Lets not tell my Dad about this night when he comes home, okay?" she said with a slight giggle under her breath. She got up. "We better start heading home." Conan nodded, indicating that this incident would be kept silent. Hopefully the police won't tell anything, and the blood from the room had been cleaned up enough so as not to be noticeable.

Kazuha looked up at the apartment, seeing that the officers were gone. She sighed, giving a smile, and headed up there. She jumped onto the couch and soon fell asleep. Heiji waited around outside. The idea of the criminal had popped into his head again, and he found himself pacing back and forth, kicking dirt here and there. "She's such a sweet girl.. How could anyone.. AGHH!" He kicked a rock across the street with all his might, just barely missing a window. Just then, he noticed Conan and Ran coming back up the street.

Ran saw Heiji standing outside of the house, she gave a smile and looked down at Conan, "I'll be inside." She walked upstairs, quietly closing the door behind her. She stepped into the bathroom and immediately froze up, thinking about what had happened inside of there. She fell to her knees trying to forget it. After a moment, she got up, washed her face, and walked out into the living room. She saw that Kazuha was sleeping. She sat beside her and covered her with a blanket, smiling.

Conan and Heiji looked at each other, as Ran continued into the building. With one last kick, Heiji let out a sigh. Conan stepped over to the door. "Oi, Hattori, I think it's best we relax a bit. The girls somehow are able to. There's no reason we can't." Heiji nodded.

"You're right, Kudou. This is just going to bug me more if I stay awake." They walked inside, passing the girls in the living room. After a brief pause, they continued up to Kogoro/Conan's room to stay for the night.

Although, Ran was still awake. She was thinking of when she was attacked, she remembered seeing a card on him. Of the business he either owned or worked for. After the boys went by, she walked around the living room, thinking about this deeply. She looked at the sleeping Kazuha, then up the stairs to where Heiji and Conan were. She thought about going there right now, but, who will be there? She wanted to know why those men just attacked her and Kazuha so viscously. She walked around, then suddenly jumped up, "How could they have have gotten into the house?" she quietly whispered to herself. She looked everywhere for clues.

Up in the room, neither Conan nor Heiji could quite get to sleep. Conan began to wonder the same things Ran did. Is it possible they found a spare key somewhere? Did Kogoro give a spare key to anyone? "Wait." said Conan, out loud.

Heiji snapped out of his sad day dream. He looked to the spare bed, then up to the boy. "Where's Ran's father?!"

"Yeah, don't you find it strange that he isn't here?" asked Conan, "I don't remember him saying that he would be going anywhere overnight..."

Ran was looking in the cupboard underneath the kitchen sink until she heard a loud scream. She quickly got up, bumping her head. "Ow Ow Ow Ow Ow," she said, holding her head. Kazuha quickly rolled off the couch and jumped to her feet, "I'm up!" She ran around looking for Ran. Ran turned a corner, bumping heads into Kazuha. They fell to the floor, both holding their heads.

"Ow Ow Ow Ow Ow," they both whispered loudly. They got up, looking at each other, then fell over again. "That was Heiji, wasn't it?" Kazuha muttered.

Ran glared, "Yeah."

--------------End Chapter 1--------------


	2. The Chase

--------------Chapter 2: The Chase--------------

"What are you going to do to find out, Kudou?" asked Heiji.

"Well..." Conan started. He picked up his bowtie and adjusted it. He then picked up his cellphone. "If I call him using Inspector Megure's voice, and a criminal picks up, it will seem as if the cops are on their way. Yet, If Mouri-san picks up, he'll be willing to tell us where he is and what he's doing, lest he be needed for some case." Conan made a sly smile. Heiji let out a laugh.

"You couldn't be so clever without all these gadgets, you know?"

Conan started dialing a number. "I know," he said nonchalantly.

Ran and Kazuha soon got up, rubbing both of their heads, "Why did he yell?"

Ran shrugged. "I better go check," Kazuha said, almost beginning to run up there. Ran grabbed her shoulder.

"Just let them be," Ran said, giving a smile.

Kazuha pouted, "You and that smile." She puckered her lips and sat down. Ran looked out the window and was drawn to a car that was parked outside.

"Kazuha..." she whispered, tugging on her shirt to pull her up to the window. "Do you see that?- Someone is in there." Kazuha squinted her eyes.

"You're right!" she said loudly. The figure in the car looked towards the window. They both quickly fell down, "Shhhh!" Ran said, putting a finger to her mouth.

Kazuha nodded, then slowly looked over to the car. "Eh, Ran, it's gone."

Ran quickly jumped up, "What?"

They both quickly jumped up, hearing a knock on the door. Ran looked at Kazuha, "Stay here." Ran quietly walked towards the door and answered it. Her eyes widened.

Rrrrring rrrrrring rrrrrrring "Hmm..." Conan hummed, "Nobody's picking up."

"Maybe the criminal took his phone?..." Heiji suggested.

"Or maybe he's passed out drunk," sighed Conan, hanging up. "Either way, I'll try again later." Conan put down the bowtie. Downstairs, a knock on the door was clearly audible. Heiji and Conan jumped. Slipping the phone into his pocket, the two ran downstairs.

Ran looked at Kazuha, "Kazuha stay here." Kazuha kept insisting that she go with Ran. "Stay here!" she yelled. Kazuha looked at her. Ran closed the front door and followed the figure into the car.

"You will tell me where my father is, right?" she said, looking at the man. The man smiled grimly as his silver hair draped over his shoulders. But his hat was covering his eyes, and the only light they had was from his cigarette.

"Why of course," he said deeply. Ran looked away.

As Heiji and Conan reached the doorway, it was too late. Conan's eyes went from Kazuha, straining herself to stay in place, out the window, to where Ran stood by a shiny black vehicle.

"_No..._" Conan thought, as he peered into the driver's seat, where the most obvious and hated blonde man in Shinichi's life existed. "_It can't be... Not him... Talking with Ran?!_" He darted outside, before Heiji could even ask what was going on. Conan stuck to the darkness, going from shadow-to-shadow, avoiding the streetlights as long as he could. When he was sure he could not be seen, he crouched down along the ground, opened up his watch, and shot out a quick little tranquilizer dart. But the car was already on its way. He missed.

Ran felt the gun he had throb into her side, she closed one eye as she winced. "Now, you're going me everything I need to know about... Kudou Shinichi."

Ran looked at him suprised," Shinichi?"

The man smirked. "I'm sure you've heard of him."

Ran stopped him, "Weren't you going to take me where my father is?" He shoved the gun into her side more.

"In the back seat, theres an old samurai sword. I need you to do a little errand for me now, Ran Mouri." She knew what he was going to ask her. "I need you to kill someone for me."

Ran quickly snapped, "No." She looked at him. He shrugged.

"Believe me, you will."

They drove on, finally arriving at a building. Once on top of it, they saw a man standing there asleep, all tied up. Ran held the samurai sword, as the man who was keeping her hostage stood behind her with a gun to her head. "Do it," he muttered. The guy tied up in front of her woke up. He widened his eyes, struggling to get away. Ran tried to turn around. But before she could, the guy behind her already had her in his grasp. "Do you want to die?" He smiled maliciously, "Especially not even knowing where you own father is?" He came closer to her. There was a sudden silent pause in her thoughts. She began to tear up and thought of Shinichi.

She quickly replied, "No! I have my friends, family, everyone and everything that I love!" She quickly drew the sword into her own stomach, leading the end into Gin's as well. She fell to her knees, full of the pain. She still had the sword in her. He fell to the ground as well, but was quickly able to get back up. With that, he ran off, leaving Ran kneeling there in pain.

"NOT so fast... Gin." In the elevator that opened, a boy stood, staring at him. Conan smirked, and turned off the tracking device on his glasses. "It's funny..." he started. "When I first saw you and tried to knock you out, I missed. As you started to drive away, I wondered..." He peeled one of the tracking dots from his shirt button. "If I put this in front of the dart, will it shoot with it and attach to your car?..." Conan raised an eyebrow, "...Apparently so." He watched Gin, the blood coming from his abdomen, as he continued on. "By the way, I'm not the only one who knows you're here. I contacted the police and let them know of your location. They should be here shortly."

Angered, Gin quickly pushed him out of the way and into the elevator, his hand over his abdomen. Ran walked over to the tied-up man and slowly untied him. Noticing the incredible pain she was in, she reached out to grab onto a handle. The man in front of her quickly stopped her, "You shouldn't struggle, you'll only ruin your internal organs." She watched him grab the handle, then quickly fell to her knees, holding her stomach.

Conan grunted. "Heiji! Kazuha! He's heading downstairs!" He called out, before turning around and rushing to Ran's aid. "Ran! What was that about? How did you get to talking with those guys?!"

Outside on the ground, Heiji yelled up, "Check!" He parked his motorcycle around the curb. Right behind him stood Kazuha, who was to direct the FBI once they arrived. Heiji ran into the building and hid by the elevator. He picked up a nearby vase, arming himself should something occur.

Ran was speechless. She felt her blood rushing out of her quickly. She slowly got up and limped away a bit, before falling back onto her knees. "I'm not going to make it," she said as her eyes began to water. Gin made his escape, of course. He was already down the street from the scene, holding his stomach.

"Damn girl," he muttered.

"Don't talk like that, Ran," said Conan, with the widest eyes he ever had. In the cool night air, sirens could be heard approaching. "See?" He told her, "The ambulance is on its way," he looked up to the other man, "For both of you." He turned back to Ran. He wrapped his arms around her and kneeled down close. She couldn't die. Not now. Especially not at the hands of the very people that forced him to horribly lie to her for so long, just to keep her safe. To give her all those sleepless nights and worries... No. She had to survive.

He held her so tightly. Only when he realized that his hair was wet, did he notice just how badly he was crying.

Soon the medics arrived. They gathered Ran and the man, working as hard as they could to save her. A hour later she woke up from inside the hospital. "Mmm?" she mumbled, as the light shined in her face. The medics were suprised to see her even alive. She hardly moved. Almost immediately, Kazuha came jumping in and hugged Ran.

"Next time I'm not going to listen to you, Ran," she announced to her face. Ran giggled.

In the waiting room, Conan stared into the wall blankly. Next to him was Heiji, his expression pretty much the same. Heiji looked beside him to see Kazuha's seat was now empty. "Oi, Kudou... Kazuha's disappeared... Do you think that means?..."

Conan did not waste a moment more waiting. He jumped from his seat over to Ran's room. "You're awake!" he called out, disbelieving. Heiji followed behind him. Just then, reality hit Conan again. He walked over to Ran's side, and quietly said, so that only she could hear, "Hey. Can I talk to you alone?..."

Ran looked at Conan, smiled and propped herself up, "Sure." Kazuha and Heiji left the room as Ran looked to the boy. "Um, what is it Conan?" she asked, tilting her head.

Conan decided there. It was fine to drop the child-like act. In a serious voice, he repeated what he asked on the rooftop an hour earlier. "How did you know those guys?" His eyes stared straight into hers, seeking out the truth more than ever before.

She looked away, her smile fading away as well. "What do you mean?" She stared into the corner of the room.

"Ran," He didn't remove his gaze, "I know that those aren't people you should be talking with. How did they find you? Why did you get into a car with them?!" His expression was stable.

Ran reached out of bed and hugged him gently. She smiled and whispered softly in his ear, "Because, I was only protecting you... Shinichi."

Conan's eyes flew open. His breath stopped in his lungs and refused to go free. He felt Ran's warm embrace, but all he could focus on was his own heart, hammering as if it would fly from his chest at any moment. "But... how?..." his thoughts raced.

She looked into his eyes and smiled, poking his nose, "Only joking, Conan." She knelt down closer to him. "I was only protecting those I care most about. But I wasn't going to start thinking you were Shinichi again." She smiled and kissed his cheek. "But... thank you for worrying about me."

Conan blinked. After the hug, he looked up at her. He could still feel his heart, now calming down. As he looked into her face, he couldn't help but smile. "Silly Ran-neechan. You miss Shinichi-niichan so much, you see him everywhere you look! You must really be crazy about him!" The two exchanged a smile, Conan knowing well that the feeling was mutual.

--------------End Chapter 2--------------


	3. The Attempted Robbery

--------------Chapter 3: The Attempted Robbery--------------

Soon after some days of healing, bed rest, and a healthy diet, Ran was allowed to leave the hospital. She walked into her house. "Empty," she stated to herself. She sighed as she walked into the kitchen. She continued walking through her house, pulling the remaining "DO NOT CROSS" tape that was left on the wall. She rubbed the back of her neck and sighed. "It's quiet..." she told herself, turning to look outside.

Up in his room, Conan stood. "Maybe I should've told Ran the truth. I feel sort of guilty. Seriously..." He just looked at his house, empty, and supposedly "haunted". He sighed, deciding to call Ran on the Kudou phone. "But, what to say? After what last happened, I don't think I'll be able to face her, much less call her. What was she, love-sick or something?" He looked down at the phone in his hand, almost trembling. "Gah, I'll just call Hattori," he thought, dialing his number, "Maybe there'll be a new case."

At the front door, there was a sudden knock. But before it could be answered, a cheery Kazuha stepped in, her hand full of balloons. "Welcome home, Ran-chan!" she called out into the house.

Ran smiled. "Kazuha!" she said happily. She looked at the balloons. " For me?" she asked, pointing at them.

"Mmhmm!" Kazuha nodded, handing them to Ran. She held her hands together by her hips, "I'm so glad to see you're able to walk around so quickly! Can you sit and bend down all right?"

Ran rubbed the back of her head, "Sort of..." She gave a smile and grabbed the balloons. "How do you feel though, Kazuha?" she asked, giving her a worried expression.

"Oh," Kazuha's smile faded. "To be honest..." she started, beginning to blush, looking over at the wall, "I've actually been thinking of Heiji a lot more since then..."

Ran blushed and gave a smile, "Oh really..." She walked over to her, nudging her against her waist, "How so? Hmmm?"

"Just forget it." Conan hung up without talking to Hattori. He thought about it again, and decided to call Ran instead.

"Well..." Kazuha continued, "Because I saw how bad it hurt him. I know that he would never do anything like that to me. I know that he will always be there to protect me, and-" a phone started to ring, "Ran, is that yours?" she asked, checking that it wasn't her own.

"Hm?" Ran took a look at her phone. "It's, Sh-Shinichi..." she said in an unexpected tone. She flipped the phone open and looked at Kazuha as she answered. "Hello?" She blinked curiously.

Conan put up the bow-tie voice changer. It was already set up to be in Shinichi's voice. "Ran... I want to tell you something."

"Uh, and what's that?" She rolled her eyes to Kazuha and shrugged, not knowing what he was going to say. Kazuha shamelessly put her head close to the phone, listening in.

Conan stood silent for a second, his nerves catching up with him. "Umm... I just wanted to say that... uhh..." He shuffled his feet, "Umm... I uhh.. I took a walk yesterday and thought of you?" he slipped out, not able to say what he felt like directly.

Ran was speechless as her expression became blank, "Oh, uh, wow. That's nice?" She looked at Kazuha and giggled quietly. "Is that all Shinichi?"

"Uhh... yes..." he said, his face burning like the sun. "...But you know why?" he asked, suddenly ready to say more.

Kazuha grabbed the phone. "Listen here, you! Ran's here with a wound and you're nowhere in sight!" she stated to him. She looked at Ran, giving her a wink. But Ran was just trying to grab the phone back.

Conan's eyes flew open, being taken aback. "Hey! Why are you listening into our private conversation?! Put Ran back on the line!"

Kazuha giggled, handing Ran the phone back. Ran cleared her throat, "Sorry Shinichi." She tried to push Kazuha's face away from the phone.

Just then, the front door opened and Heiji walked in. "Hey girls! Whatcha-" he spotted the phone and Kazuha's giggling face. Heiji turned playful. "All right, who are ya talkin' to?" he asked, leaning up to the phone.

Ran sighed as she tried getting away from the two, Kazuha wrapped her arms around Ran's waist and pulled her closer, she deepened her voice and spoke into the phone. "Hey baby, who ya talking to?"

Ran blushed. "K-Kazuha!"

Conan raised an eyebrow, "Hey, what's going on over there?"

At the sound of his voice, Heiji smiled. "Ah, so you're talking to Kudou, are you? Well, have fun!" He walked up to Kogoro's room, shutting the door behind him. He laughed a little to himself, spotting Conan on the bed with the phone and his bowtie.

Conan shot him a look, covered the phone's speaker, and quietly told him, "Keep your mouth SHUT..."

Standing there for a moment, before Ran could reply to Shinichi, Kazuha tackled her onto the floor. The phone fell next to the front door as Ran laid beneath Kazuha. Kazuha looked at Ran laughing. "Now, where's that phone...?" She looked around then back down at Ran. Kazuha quickly jumped up, remembering that Ran had just came out of the hospital. "I-I'm sorry Ran-chan!"

Ran held her side, closing her eyes, she looked up and gave a smile. "It's okay..." She got up, grabbing the phone. Kazuha circled around Ran to make sure she wasn't hurt anywhere else.

"Ran? Ran? Are you there? Is everything okay? I heard a crash!" called Shinichi, though in all reality he heard the crash directly from downstairs, rather than as background noise through the phone. Heiji looked on, curiously.

At the moment, Ran was holding Kazuha's head to keep her from looking at her anymore. "Yeah, I'm fine." She gave a slight chuckle. "Um, was there anything else you wanted to talk about?" she asked, raising a brow and looking at her phone.

Kazuha was trying as hard as she could to get closer to her. "Ran... Come on!" she whined, as a whispered.

Conan went on, "Well, the reason I thought about you was..." Heiji moved close up behind him, a menacing smile over his face. "I-It was..."

"Someone's awfully red..." whispered Heiji, in a sing-song voice. Conan blushed even further.

"It was because I saw some kid at the park, he fell off the swing and flat onto his butt!" He blinked. "_I can't believe I said that!_" he thought, closing his eyes, trying to ignore Heiji's muffled laughs.

Ran gave a fake chuckle as she smiled. "So that's it, huh?" She put her left hand on her hip, "So that was it, Shinichi?" She then heard a big THUMP, seeing that when she had put her hand on her hip, she let Kazuha's head drop. The girl fell flat on her face.

Conan's face sizzled, with Heiji behind him, covering his mouth to stifle the laughter. His voice squeaked minutely, "Uh, yeah..." He stared at the floor.

Ran began to laugh at Kazuha. "Oh, okay b-bye!" She looked down at Kazuha and giggled. "See, what happens when you want to be nosey? It's called karma, Ms. Toyoma." She helped her up.

"Bye?" asked Conan, after the phone hung up. He wheeled around to Heiji, still red as a tomato. "You know I hate you, right?" Heiji stopped laughing for a moment, simply to give a sweet smile. "Ugh," went Conan, as he hopped off the bed, put his phone away and his bowtie back in place.

"What? You mean you originally intended to say something ELSE?" inquired Heiji.

Conan merely raised an eyebrow. "It's something you wouldn't understand," he said, walking out the door and to the kitchen for some water.

Kazuha sat on the couch quietly as she held a bag of ice to her head. "Mm.." she mumbled. It was hard enough to have her head kept up, without her falling again. Ran walked into the bathroom and sighed, remembering the scene a couple of days ago. She felt bad for not telling anybody what happened to her, she just felt uncomfortable.

On Conan's way back, he passed by Kazuha on the couch. "Are you all right, Kazuha-neechan?"

Kazuha squinted her eyes as she tried to put her focus to Conan, she gave a care free smile. "Yeah, I'm fine kid."

"But you're holding an ice pack to your head." He went by the side of her couch where her feet were and hopped up next to her. "You don't still hurt from the other day, do you?"

She chuckled, "Only a little bit." She looked over at Conan and gave a smile, "So, why were you and Heiji upstairs for so long?"

"Ah, we were just talking, that's all," Conan insisted. He sat quietly for a moment, before wondering again where Kogoro could be. "Kazuha-neechan? Did the police say anything about Ran's dad?"

Kazuha shrugged. "The only person who will know anything about that is Ran." She smiled brightly, noticing Ran in the kitchen cooking. "Ran-chan...!" she almost said in a tune while walking towards her. She looked over her shoulder frantically, "What are you cooking?"

Ran looked back at Kazuha, "Just some stew.." She turned around, "I need to go to the grocery store, I ran out of leeks."

Kazuha hunched her shoulders. "Aww..."

"Can I go with you, Ran-neechan? I want to get ice cream!" Conan said, jumping up and down, thinking, "_No WAY am I letting you go out to the store alone..._"

Ran smiled, "Of course, Conan!" She walked past him, patting his head.

Kazuha looked down at him. "Hehe, slick.." she said, walking by him.

Conan went out to the door before Ran could and slipped his shoes on.

Back in the hallway, Heiji stepped out from the room. "Hey hey, is everyone leaving me here alone or something? Or do I simply not exist to you people?" He walked out to the rest of them.

Kazuha gave a chuckle. "Looks like we have some guys who are worried about us, huh, Ran-chan?" she said, giving a couple of nudges in the side. "Gah! Sorry Ran-chan! I forgot about your injury..."

Ran took a step aside from Kazuha, "It's ok.."

Conan looked up worriedly to Ran, unsure if she should even be walking much in her condition. As he opened the door, he instinctually reached up for Ran's hand. Only then did he realize just how used to holding it he had become. Behind him, Heiji chuckled, then looked to Kazuha. "That's true. You really SHOULD be more careful. Are you going with them, too?"

Kazuha rose a brow. "Why, of course! Why wouldn't I be?" She took a step closer to Ran, beginning to walk beside her. Ran looked down at Conan, "So, what kind of ice cream do you want to get, Conan?"

Conan looked up to Ran as they walked outside. "Uh... Chocolate!" he said with a smile. "With sprinkles and syrup!"

Heiji caught up to Kazuha and laughed a little. "_I really gotta hand it to him. He's got this kid stuff down to a T! But I guess that'll just make it worse when the time comes to..._" He glanced up at Ran, seeing her talk to the boy so cheerfully. "_Perhaps being so convincing won't help him in the long run..._"

Kazuha jumped up, grabbing Ran's arm. "Ran-chan, we should celebrate! We should go out to sushi later!" she said while holding up her pointer finger.

"Celebrate for what?" Ran replied, while Kazuha continued to tug onto her arm. "Besides, is it really a good idea to be going alone, Kazuha?"

Kazuha patted her head. "Oh, Ran, those men are long gone!" she insisted. Ran exhaled deeply.

Heiji's thoughts stopped for a second, hearing Kazuha mention the men. He closed his eyes and tried to push it aside. Conan looked back and noticed. "But Kazuha-neechan! We'll be going with you to eat, right? Me and Heiji-niichan can protect you!" He included the "me" part just to sound cute, though in all reality, he had his super-powered shoes and inflatable ball belt on, so he was ready for anything.

Kazuha looked down at Conan. "You guys are coming?" She rolled her eyes to meet with Heiji's.

Ran smiled, "Oh, Kazuha, it'll be fine if we take them with us." She looked down at Conan. "Besides, Conan will save me if anything happens. Right Mr. Detective?"

Conan didn't expect the, "Mister Detective" part, but nodded gleefully nonetheless. "I'll always be there for Ran-neechan!"

Arriving at the store, Heiji stepped ahead and held open the door. "After you!" he insisted to the girls, taking the extra moment to survey the others in the store for suspicious activity.

Kazuha closed the door, "Ran-chan, don't you think they're acting weird?"

Ran tilted her head, "Who?"

Kazuha raised her voice. "Heiji and the kid, of course!"

Ran smiled. "They're only worried about us, Kazuha."

Kazuha crossed her arms over her chest. "I guess so... Heiji, come on!" She grabbed ahold of his sweater, pulling him in with Ran and Conan. "No need to be so formal around us, Heiji." She let go of his shirt.

Ran looked around, "Hm, leeks... anything else?" Kazuha stopped.

"I have to use the restroom," she stated as if she were solider. She grabbed Ran's hand, dragging her to the stalls.

"W-Wait Kazuha! I don't have to go...!"

Conan and Heiji looked to each other with raised eyebrows. In a flat voice, Conan asked him, "What was THAT all about?.."

"I don't know. But they're awfully brave, wanting to run off on their own already. Don't you think so, Kudou?" Heiji looked back to the bathrooms.

"Hm. Well, they can surprise us with their bravery sometimes. What I also meant was that whole, 'after you' thing."

"Oh, heh, that? Well, uh-"

"AHH! CATCH THAT MAN!" A woman suddenly screamed. The boys turned around, seeing a man run from the cash registers towards the door. They chased after him, and before Conan could charge up his shoe, Heiji had jumped. He landed on the man, knocking him straight to the floor.

Kazuha and Ran had walked out of the stalls before the whole scene had started up. Ran widened her eyes, taking a step back. "_H-How?_" she thought to herself, as she ran back into the bathroom locking the door. "_Why is he out of jail so soon?!_"

Kazuha knocked on the door, "Ran-chan? Are you okay?" Ran ignored her as she continued to bang on the door. "Come on Ran.." Kazuha turned around, leaning against the door of the bathroom.

The lady that screamed ran up to Heiji. "Oh! Thank you SO much!!"

"What did he do?" asked Heiji, slowly getting off of the man, but holding his wrists behind him tight.

"It seems he tried to rob the store," interjected Conan, "Look in his jacket pockets. They're full of hastily-shoved money and a knife, and..." Conan looked in the other pocket, "...a housekey?!" Conan stared at it. It looked so familiar... But, could it be?...

Heiji looked down. "Yeah, you're right. Did somebody call the police?"

The woman nodded, "Yes, they're automatically dialed when we press the silent alarm."

Conan picked up the key with his handkerchief and examined it, "_There's no doubt about it..._"

Kazuha continued to bang on the door. "Ran, please come out." Kazuha turned around to take a glance at the robber. She sighed, turning back to the door, "Listen. I know it's him, but you can tell me anything, all right?" She took a step back, noticing Ran slowly opening the door with her head down. She looked up at the robber, then looked at Kazuha. She quickly jumped on her, hugging her tightly.

"Hattori," said Conan stilly, nudging him with his elbow.

"Hmm?" He turned.

Conan held the key loosely in front of him, turning to Heiji. "T-This is the key to Ran's house!"

Heiji's eyes opened wide. "No, it can't be!" Unknowingly, he loosened his grip on the man's wrists.

The robber took advantage and suddenly reached out, knocking Conan over and making him drop the key. Heiji jumped back down onto the man. "You're not getting away THAT easily!"

Conan turned and picked the key back up. Looking at the man, he stood up, "I think we'll keep this for evidence..."

Kazuha turned around, still with Ran in her arms curled up. "So, that was the guy, Ran-chan?" Ran came closer to her and nodded slightly.

She looked up at Kazuha. "Can we just go home?"

Kazuha nodded, "Of course." Kazuha felt sad for not asking what happened to Ran that one night they were attacked randomly by those men. Ran was caring more about Kazuha than herself.

Ran cleared her throat, wiping her eyes. She looked at Kazuha. "Actually, I'm fine. Just had a moment there..." she gave a chuckle.

Kazuha just looked at her, worried. "Um, ok."

Ran walked into the store and towards Conan. "Conan, are you okay?" she knelt down to him.

"Oh! Ran-neechan!" Conan turned to her, surprised. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said, rubbing his arm a little, before turning back to the robber. As he did, he couldn't help but notice that Heiji was pushing down on him a lot more than he did before. There was obvious pain on the man's face. "_Hattori..._" he thought, watching.

"Please step away, everyone!" called an approaching policeman, as several gathered around Hattori and the robber. "Thank you for catching the criminal, young man," he said, causing Heiji to stand up while the police took over from there. Heiji's face was clearly menacing.

"Hey keiji-san!" called Conan to one of the policemen. "This fell out of that guy's pocket." He showed him the key.

The policeman took it, seeming unphased, "Ah, it's probably just his house key. Thank you for returning it, kid." Before Conan could insist anymore, the officer had walked back to the others.

Kazuha looked over at the key. "Ran, isn't that your house key?" she asked curiously.

Ran looked at it also. "Y-Yeah, yeah it is." Her eyes widened. She looked at the man as he was escorted to the police vehicle. "We better hurry home." She said, walking ahead of them.

Kazuha looked at her, puzzled and worried. "_Poor Ran.._." she thought to herself, as she followed her from behind.

Heiji watched the man be led away, furious as ever, thinking, "_So that's the scumbag, huh? Now I know his face..._"

"Oi."

Heiji looked down to Conan, who was walking in front of him. "It's a detective's job to find out who, what, how, when... Not to take revenge." He turned to face him, "In fact, that's often how criminals are made in the first place. You should know this by now. I think the police can handle it from here." He turned back and continued walking.

"_No... They clearly can't, Kudou..._" Heiji thought as everyone walked ahead of him, "_He got away once, who says it can't happen again? Besides..._" He started walking to catch up with them, "_You wouldn't be acting so cool if this happened to your girl._"

Ran stared down at her feet as she walked. Almost dragging her heels on the ground. Kazuha came closer to her. "Can you please tell me Ran?"

Ran rubbed the back of her head, "Kazuha, nothing happened." she stammered.

As she walked on ahead, Kazuha sighed, "When she has something on her mind, she really doesn't like to tell anyone what it is, huh..." she quietly told herself.

--------------End Chapter 3--------------


	4. The Mysterious Man

--------------Chapter 4: The Mysterious Man--------------

Night was beginning to fall as the group approached the Mouri household again. Conan looked up to the dark windows, wondering where the normally-drunken wannabe-detective could be. As much as he bothered him, Conan knew that potentially having Kogoro in the grips of the Black Organization could only lead to more trouble. But they're always so elusive. If only there was some sort of trace they could follow...

Conan's eyes immediately flipped open. "The man on the roof!" he thought. He stopped walking and looked behind him, to the taxi that was approaching. "Taxi!" he called out, causing it to pull up to him.

"H-Hey, what are you do-?" Heiji started to ask, but Conan interrupted.

"Get in! Hurry! We may not have time!" The two climbed into the back seat.

Ran turned around, hearing Conan. "Conan!" She ran to the taxi, looking in the window. "Where are you going?" she said, as Kazuha looked over her shoulder.

Conan wondered for a moment if it would be safe to leave the girls home alone in such a condition. He opened the door, "Ran, Kazuha, go over to Agasa Hakase's house, and STAY THERE. Do not leave!" He slammed the door shut again, telling the taxi driver to head towards the hospital.

Kazuha fakely chuckled. "A kid, telling us what to do."

Ran looked at Kazuha, "He's right. We need to hurry over there." Kazuha shrugged, giving a nod. They ran over to Agasa's. It began to rain, and Ran was breathing heavily as her wound started to hurt her. As soon as they made it to the house, Ran knocked on the door, Kazuha was behind her.

The door opened, and in the doorway stood a young blonde girl. She blinked, unsure of who the girl behind Ran was. She noticed the rain suddenly get harder. "Ah, come in," Ai said, stepping back to let them in.

Ran walked in. Kazuha took a glance at the girl and gave a smile. Ran looked around, "Is Doctor Agasa here?" She looked back down at Ai.

"Yeah, he's downstairs," she replied, before going over to the couch and picking up a book. Without looking at the girls, she continued, "You can go see him if you want."

Across town, Heiji and Conan endured the bumpy ride of the taxi. "What happened? What did you notice?" asked Heiji.

"The man," Conan whispered in response, so that the driver would not get suspicious, "The man that was on the roof that Gin wanted Ran to kill. He came to the hospital too. I doubt he's still there, but they should have gathered information about him..." He stared into the road ahead, concentrating.

Ran sat down, wringing her hair out with a towel. "I'm worried about Conan," she said, looking up at Kazuha, who was standing up and looking outside.

"Yeah.." She replied.

"What do you think they're up to?" Ran asked, curiously. Kazuha shrugged.

Ai glanced up for a moment. "I thought you wanted to see the professor?... So why are you here?"

"Conan wanted us to be here." Ran said while keeping her eyes glued to the window with Kazuha. Ran sat back down, "Should I go and look for them?"

Kazuha shook her head. "No, I guess we just better stay put here."

Ran looked over at Ai, "If the professor is busy, we'll just leave him be until he finds out for himself that we're here."

"Suit yourself," replied Ai, closing the book and standing up. She put it onto a shelf before heading downstairs on her own.

Ran watched Ai close the door. She felt that she should call Conan, but decided not to. Kazuha sat down as Ran got back up. "When do you think they'll be home?" Kazuha whispered, looking down at her feet.

"Don't know," Ran said, looking outside.

The taxi continued along, the hospital appearing down the road.

"You're right. But since their attempt at his death failed one time, they would obviously try again." Heiji added, now looking forward too.

"Yeah..." said Conan, "That's why we have to act now. The longer we wait, the higher the chances are that they already got to him..." The taxi pulled over, and the boys got out.

They ran through the hospital door and up to the lobby desk. The lady behind it smiled sweetly, "I'm sorry boys, but visiting hours are over."

"That's okay, we just need information," said Heiji.

"There was a man here the other day, but he wasn't majorly hurt. He was just getting checked out," Conan panted, "But we don't know his name."

The lady looked to them. "I-I'm sorry, but I need more specific information. Many people come here from accidents and such simply to be checked out."

"He was threatened and nearly killed with a sword!" Conan shouted out, "He was found on a rooftop along with a stabbed girl nearby!"

"Oh!" The woman's eyes opened up, "Yes, yes, I do remember him." She searched through some files before pulling out a card with his name. "It says he went home that day. Do you need to contact him?"

"Yes!" the boys simultaneously yelled. The woman took a piece of scrap paper and wrote a phone number and address down on it.

"Here you go," she handed it to them, smiling.

"Thank you miss!" Conan replied, before the two ran back out into the rain, hailing another taxi.

They hopped in, and before they knew it, they were at the man's house. As they exited, they looked up to the building. It was in an older part of the city, where neighbors' houses nearly touched each other, and yards were unheard of. It was two stories high with a flat roof. The lights weren't on, so they stood there staring at it, wondering if anybody was even home.

Back in the Beika district, Agasa Hiroshi was heading upstairs. He stepped into the living room and saw the girls near the window. "Ran-kun, Kazuha-chan, what brings you here? Ai says you just arrived."

Ran turned around, "Doctor Agasa." she walked towards him. "Conan wanted us to stay here, while him and Heiji go do something." She put her pointer finger against her cheek. "But I'm clueless as to what it was..."

Kazuha stood up. "Same for me."

"Well, uh," the professor began, knowing that if Shinichi told them to come here, it would have to be for a good reason. "Why don't you girls relax for a bit? Sit down, put on the TV. Do you want anything to drink?"

Kazuha raised up her arm, still standing over by the window. "I would, please!"

Ran walked over to Kazuha, "You could've said 'no' and just been polite." She insisted.

Kazuha rose a brow, "Whaaat? I'm just thirsty."

Across town, a man looked out his window, noticing a taxi. He quickly pulled the curtains down and ran into his kitchen. "_It's them.. the Black Organization._" He quickly washed his face off. "_Maybe that girl is with them,_" he thought, then growing a smile. "_Yeah, yeah that must be it!_"

Heiji stepped up to the door and knocked. "Hello? Is anybody home?" Conan walked up next to him and waited.

He slowly opened up the door, with a smile. "Is she with you?" he asked, looking at both of them. They could hear his hand shake on the door knob as he held it open. "Well, is she!?" he demanded.

The boys jumped, surprised. "I-Is WHO with us?" asked Heiji.

"The girl, who saved me by stabbing herself." He looked away smiling. "I liked her.." he chuckled softly. "That doesn't answer my question! Where is she?!"

Conan slid in front of Heiji. "She's in a safe place and doing fine... Don't worry. But right now we have more pressing matters. We need to talk to you."

"She's safe.." he sighed. "I want to see her." He opened the door. " What is it that you want to talk about?"

"Can we come inside?" asked Conan, a stern look about him.

Looking down at the little one, he grew a small smile. "You act more like an adult than someone your age, young man." He sat down in his arm chair. "Uh, what was it that you young men wanted to talk about?"

Conan sat on a couch and made a fake smile, "Yeah, many people say that."

Heiji sat beside him, across from the man, "But your life is in danger... and it's only a matter of time before those guys try and kill you again..." he looked over to Conan, who continued,

"And this time, they probably won't fail." His face darkened.

The man grew a frightened expression."F-Fail?" he stuttered. He quickly got up out of his seat, "She'll save me! The girl from the other night!" He nodded to himself as if he believed it. He looked down at Conan and pointed to him, "You were there that night! You were!" He fell to his knees looking at him, "Where is she, boy?.." he asked calmly.

"Sh-she's..." he looked up to Heiji for help, but he was just as unsure of what to say as Conan was. "She's.. She's at home. She's still recovering, though, so she won't be doing anything too heroic for a while. But what we need..." He looked straight into the man's eyes, "Is to know where the Black Organization is right now... Do you know?"

He cleared his throat. "The Organization." He fell back against his chair. "N-No. I'm terribly sorry." He lowered his head. "I'm just terrified." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Especially after what they did to that detective."

Both Conan and Heiji sat up hearing that. "Detective?" they asked simultaneously, before looking at each other, surprised.

The man covered his face."There was a detective, they killed.-slaughtered!" Streaks of tears came down his rosy cheeks. "I don't want to die.." He grabbed ahold of Conan's sleeve. "I don't want to die like that man!"

Conan looked up to Heiji, slightly worried. Heiji continued, "Unfortunately, it seems that once you start a deal with these people, you can never stop... But, what about the detective? Who was it?"

"Mouri," he almost yelled as he replied. "I only know of his last name." He looked at them both from the ground. "Please, I just want to go with you."

The two froze still, shocked. Conan grabbed the man's shirt by the shoulders, "Are you sure it's him?! Did you see it yourself?! Is he really..." the word caught in his throat for a moment, "...dead?

He nodded. "You, you know of this man?" He looked at them both.

"A-Actually..." Conan gulped, "He's the father of the girl that saved you..."

The man widened his eyes. "No, it can't be..." he whispered to himself. He got up, shocked. "W-wow." he looked at Conan. "May I go see her?"

The two looked to each other again. "Well, you're already in enough danger from them," whispered Heiji.

"But they've already seen Ran's face and home. If they were going to target her, they wouldn't need to have more reasons," Conan replied, seriously. After a moment of thought, they looked back to the man. "Okay. But first we'll need to make sure the coast is clear." Conan hopped down from the couch, turned on his night-vision, and peered out the window at the street.

Heiji looked to the man nervously, "Don't worry, he knows what he's doing.. heh." He said, putting his arm behind his back.

"Okay, coast is clear," said Conan, turning around to them. "Take only the few things most important to you. If we carry many bags, it will draw attention. But make sure you take what you really need, because you may never return to this place again."

He nodded, taking a look around, he was suprised. Nothing. There was nothing in his home that he wanted. He just wanted to see that girl who saved his life. He sighed, turning back around to them. "No," he said.

"No?" repeated Heiji. "Are you sure? You can never come back.."

He nodded, "I'm sure I'll - Um, maybe some clothes would help." He gave a fake smile, and grabbed a suit case full of clothes. "Okay, let's go."

The three walked out the door into the brisk night. "By the way," asked Conan, while Heiji flagged down a cab, "What's your name?"

"My name is Nagi. Nagi Botan." He said as he hopped into the cab.

--------------End Chapter 4--------------


	5. Breaking the Bad News

--------------Chapter 5: Breaking the Bad News--------------

Back at the house, Doctor Agasa met up with Ai downstairs.

"So what's going on with them?" asked Ai, typing on the computer.

The professor looked to her, "That's what I was going to ask you."

"Do you think Kudou-kun is up to trouble again?"

"Maybe..." he said, as he looked up the stairs. "I just hope he doesn't get into any danger this time..."

Ai made a small, contained, laugh. "Don't you know, Professor? Danger is his middle name..."

Ran sat stiffly, waiting patiently for Conan and Heiji, with Kazuha lying by her side.

Ran got up and looked out the window once more. "Mmm..." she whined quietly to herself.

As the cab rounded up to Agasa's house, Conan noted to Nagi. "This is Professor Agasa's house. He knows about the Black Org, so it's okay to talk about it with him. There's also a girl who lives there but, umm.." He thought for a moment, "Well, you'll get to know her." The boys stepped out and approached the building.

Ran jumped up, "They're home!" she quickly ran outside." Conan!-" she stopped, seeing Nagi step out of the Taxi behind them. "You.." she quietly said.

Nagi looked up and grew a big smile. "Ms. Mouri!" he grabbed her hands.

Conan looked around quickly, to ensure that there were no black porsches around, before glancing up to Ran, "Let's go inside, then we can explain everything." Heiji continued towards the door, looking for Kazuha.

Kazuha was in a deep, quiet slumber on the couch. Ran looked down at Conan, noticing his 'serious' mood he was usually in. She felt like something was wrong. She nodded and headed inside, sitting on the couch beside Kazuha. Nagi stood behind Conan.

Heiji stepped in behind everyone and looked over to the couch. With a short, adoring look, he quickly snapped out of it and went to sit on a nearby armchair. Conan hopped onto a loveseat and waited for Nagi to join him. When they all were seated, Conan and Heiji exchanged a look, before turning to Ran. "This," started Heiji, "Is Nagi Botan, the man you saved the other day... If umm.. you can't tell." He glanced to the man for a brief moment, before looking back to Ran. From the stairwell, the Professor and Ai walked up, hearing some commotion.

Ran turned away. "I remember," she stated immediately. She looked back at Conan, "There is something wrong, isn't there Conan?" She looked at Heiji, then Nagi. "Please tell me.."

"There obviously is." Kazuha said as she rose up, looking at Ran. She exchanged looks with everyone that was in the room. She scratched the back of her head embarrassingly.

"Well, yes," continued Conan. "The people that you met the other day," he looked to Ran, referring to her. He suddenly remembered what Nagi said about her father. A bolt of pain shot through his heart, but he continued on. He'll tell her about that after this man's story is properly told. "Well, they..." he tried to go on, but anger suddenly built up in him. "_Why, him?!_" he thought.

Heiji noticed Conan's sudden silence, and decided to tell the rest for him, "They are still targeting this man's life. If we don't help hide him, who knows what they could do to him."

Ran confusingly tilted her head. "So, you will be staying with us for now, Mr. Botan?" He nodded nervously. Ran smiled and nodded her head in agreement, "I'm sure my father will help with this situation." She got up, straightening her skirt out.

A doomed look crossed Conan and Heiji's faces. "Actually, Ran-neechan..." started Conan, suddenly struck by how he will have to be the bearer of bad news. "We umm.. We won't have to wait for that..." Conan didn't need to say anymore, as the looks on the boys' faces said it all.

Ran and Kazuha looked at them. "Wait?" Ran said, giving a fake smile. Kazuha looked up at Ran, knowing what they were trying to say. Ran's eyes widened. She quickly walked passed them and out the door, down the sidewalk.

Kazuha quickly got up," R-Ran!" She ran after her.

Conan hopped up as well, and ran out the door behind them. Heiji went to get up, but Ai stopped him. "Wait," she said, making him turn on the spot towards the approaching girl. "If you leave, he leaves." She said, nodding towards the man. Heiji slowly sat back down. "Now, repeat the situation to me one more time." The Professor stood in the background, watching as it all happened.

Meanwhile, Conan caught up with the girls. "Ran-neechan!" He called, looking at her sadly. He couldn't think of any words to say, so he wrapped his arms around her legs and squeezed her tight.

Ran stopped. Looking up at the sky, it began to rain. She didn't cry, at least, not yet. "Please, Conan, let go of me." she asked quietly.

Kazuha stopped, looking at Ran. "Ran-chan.." she whispered. After catching her breath she looked down at Conan.

"No." Conan refused to let go. He held on as tightly as he would for his life. "I'm not letting you go. Especially not at a time like this." The drops of rain started dousing his head, but he did not care.

Ran slowly turned her eyes down to him. She turned around, grabbing his hands away from her legs, gently. "I'll just be out for a little while," she said, not even looking at him. She turned around and walked off.

Kazuha looked down at Conan, "She's going to her house."

Conan nodded, pretending a sadness. "At least I'll know where she really goes," he thought, as he returned to the Professor's house. Heiji had just finished explaining the situation as he entered. But Conan walked on to the bathroom, turning on his tracking glasses.

Kazuha watched Conan walk into the bathroom. She gave a long exhalation as she sat down. Meanwhile, Ran opened the door to her home. Slowly, she stepped inside. She looked over at her father's desk, then turned away, sliding her back against the door behind her. "He can't be." she thought. She looked around, flash backs flew through her head. She looked at the ground, "Oh Dad.."

Conan saw her stop in her house. "Okay. At least she's in a safe place..." he sighed, turning off the tracker and walking back out.

"So, what you're saying is..." Conan heard Ai's voice from the living room, "That this man is wanted by the Black Org, and he needs a place to stay to be safe, so you brought him here?..."

Heiji nervously nodded, "Y-yes... heh heh..."

"Do you have any idea of how much danger the Professor is in?" she stared at Heiji, as a wave of guilt suddenly washed over him. But Agasa denied it.

"No no, it's fine!" He commented. "If this man needs a place to stay, I have plenty of room for him, don't worry." Ai shot him a look, but otherwise said nothing.

Kazuha got up, looking out the window. "What if that man comes back for Ran?" she quietly asked herself. Kazuha sat down, looking down at her feet. "I wasn't the only one that night we were attacked, she was just afraid to tell anyone."

The professor walked over to Nagi to discuss living arrangements. Heiji, no longer essential, stepped up next to Kazuha. "They'll be fine," he told her, as if reading her mind. He turned to face her, with a small, honest smile. "She's a tough girl. The kid's also stronger than you give him credit for." He turned out the window, watching nothing in particular.

Kazuha didn't reply. She just merely turned away in the chair. Ran came through the door. She stopped as she looked over at Nagi. "Why didn't you go to the police?" she looked up at him in anger, shoving him up against a wall, "Why didn't you?!" She began to cry, releasing her hands off of his shirt. She slowly slid against him and onto her knees. She looked down. "Why..?"

"Ran!" Conan yelled, running over to her. But he stopped. If he said too much, he'd be given away. He simply hoped that nothing the man said would give clues to his true identity.

She watched her hands shake as they fell flat on the ground. She looked over at Conan, "My, Dad-" she cleared her throat. "My Dad is dead! Gone!" She covered her face with her hands. "I want to find where he is located." She looked up at Nagi as she sat down in front of him, "Show me."

Nagi looked down at her, he thought of what he should do. Looking at the ceiling, he gave a long sigh. "I'm sorry, I don't know where his body--he is." He looked down at her. "We will find him, I'm sure of it." He said giving her a comforting smile. Ran looked away, getting up. She looked down at her feet, saying nothing.

Conan looked to her regretfully. He knew the chances of finding one's body after the Black Org has dealt with them. He turned off and sat on a couch.

"I-I think we should get going too," said Heiji, looking over to the Professor, Ai, and the nervous Nagi. Conan peered up at him, surprised. Heiji waved his hand in a "come on" motion to him, so he hopped off the couch and followed Heiji, a bit behind the girls.

The Professor waved goodbye, but Ai merely nodded. After the boys walked out the door, the Professor went back to Nagi. "I hope you don't mind sleeping on the couch for a while until I get a cot or something for your own room." Ai turned and stared at the man.

Nagi swayed his hand back and forth twice, "No, no, please, I'll be fine just on the couch." He walked over to the couch and sat down. "Besides, I don't want to be a bother."

"Oh, it's no problem!" repeated the Professor. "I just hope you'll find plenty of things to do around here, since you can't leave the house..."

Outside, Kazuha put an arm around Ran's shoulder. "Besides, I bet Kudou will drop by anytime to help out!" she said, trying to cheer her up.

Ran looked at Kazuha with a surprised expression. "Shinichi... I haven't really thought about him for a while now, and you bringing him up. I just now realized," she said, whispering to her.

Kazuha poked her cheek. "I'm sure he'll come," she said, giving her a wink.

Conan watched the girls whispering to each other. He caught his name and started to blush. Heiji merely stared off into space, or rather, the back of Kazuha's head. They didn't even realize when they were already approaching the Mouri household.

Ran stopped, looking up at the windows, imagining her dad looking outside. She began to giggle to herself, knowing that he would probably be listening to a horse race, drinking.

Kazuha smiled, seeing that Ran was giggling. While walking up the steps, Ran unlocked the door, slowly beginning to open it. Kazuha looked over her shoulder as she stepped inside from behind Ran. Ran turned around, bringing her ear close, "Do you think he'll come?"

Kazuha snickered. "You mean, Kudou, right?" she whispered back. Ran nodded. Kazuha brought Ran closer to her, "I'm sure of it."

Heiji heard the girls' short convo and nudged Conan lightly. He knelt down to his level and whispered to him, "Hey, you know you can't just leave her like this, right? Why don't you use that drug you used last time, and come back for a day?"

Conan gave him a look, "There's a risk of me dying if I take that. She doesn't need two people close to her dying..." He stepped into the house. "Besides, I'm not even sick. It wouldn't work anyway."

Heiji quickly jumped into the house, pushing Conan back outside and closing the door.

"O-OI!" Conan shouted.

"No! You're staying out there till you catch a cold!..." Heiji turned around to face the girls, noticing suddenly how loud he had been.

Kazuha, still with her hand to Ran's ear, rose a brow. "Heiji, what are you...?"

Ran grew a blank expression. "Is Conan outside?" she asked, getting on her tippy toes to look over his shoulder and at the door.

"Uh, yeah! He said he wanted a little fresh air," lied Heiji with a smile, pushing his back against the door while Conan banged on it angrily.

Shoving Heiji away from the door, Kazuha opened it. "You okay kid?" She knelt down to him and patted his head. She then shot a look at Heiji. "Keeping an elementary school kid outside in the cold-" She looked back at Conan, "-how sad!"

Ran was in the background with her normal blank expression in confusion. "Eh?"

Conan shivered and looked up to Kazuha, "Thank you."

Heiji stepped back nervously. "Uh, I'm going to bed!" he called, as he rushed past Ran and up to the room that now only belonged to Conan.

Ran looked down at the freezing boy. "Are you okay, Conan-kun?" she asked, still in a confused tone.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Ran-neechan," Conan shivered again, "Just a little cold..." He looked around for a blanket.

Kazuha sighed, following Heiji up to the room. She opened the door. "You are surely crazy..." she said, while rubbing her head. "What was that about?" she whispered loudly to him.

Heiji turned to her. "Oh, n-nothing! Really! It was just a little joke that we play on each other. We do it all the time! Heh, heh..." He still had a fake smile, but he had a feeling that he wasn't fooling anybody.

Kazuha fell onto the bed. Her legs and arms wide open, "Poor Ran." she muttered. Staring up at the ceiling, she rolled her eyes over to Heiji. "Try to get Kudou to come."

Heiji looked down to the floor. "Don't worry, I'll try."

Kazuha rose up. She looked at Heiji, then turned away, "I hope he will." She had a sadness in her voice.

Ran knelt down, putting her jacket over Conan's shoulders, "Here Conan." She got back up and walked off.

Conan watched Ran walk away. He started to follow her, but decided instead to take a seat on the couch for a bit. He sat down on it, taking the edges of the jacket and holding them over himself more. Her scent was there. It was so calming and sweet. He was so comfortable, he could just...

Suddenly Conan fell to his side on the couch, sound asleep.

Walking passed the couch, Ran looked over, seeing Conan sleeping. She walked over to him and sat down beside him, covering him with a thick blanket. Conan didn't even flinch. He was so deeply asleep not even an airplane could wake him.

Heiji watched Kazuha leave, thinking, "_Ugh, Kudou, why can't you just give in this one time?_" He closed the door and laid down on the bed. Just as unknowingly as Conan, Heiji soon found himself fast asleep as well.

Kazuha walked downstairs, She noticed Ran sitting beside the sleeping Conan. "Awww!" she squeeled. Ran put a finger to her mouth. "Oh. I-uh, aw..." Kazuha whispered. She pointed up the stairs, "I'll be up in the room with Heiji if you need anything, Ran." Ran answered her by nodding. Walking up stairs, Kazuha looked down at the bed and saw that now Heiji was sleeping. "Why is everyone so tired?" she asked quietly to herself.

As Ran and Kazuha looked over the boys' sleep, they soon fell into a deep slumber. It was night, and snow was falling outside on the streets. Kazuha slept against a wall, Ran, sitting up on the couch next to Conan.

Meanwhile, over at Agasa's house, the Professor and Ai also found themselves ready to sleep. As Agasa stepped under his covers, Ai walked in and closed the door. "Are you sure that having him here is a good idea?"

He looked at her, "Well, you're wanted by the men in black too, aren't you? I don't see how it's any different."

"True..." she admitted, crawling into her own bed. "But at least I look different from the 'me' that they're searching."

Agasa thought about it for a moment, before looking down to her and saying, "Well then... Maybe that's something to keep in mind." He turned the light off, leaving Ai staring into the silent darkness.

Nagi, who was sitting downstairs on the couch, soon fell asleep as well.

--------------End Chapter 5--------------


	6. Conan's Acceptance

--------------Chapter 6: Conan's Acceptance --------------

Hours later, Conan awoke. It took him a moment to remember just where he was. He turned and looked over at Ran. He made a loving smile, careful to be quiet. The sun was just about to rise, but nobody could tell, thanks to the thick, grey clouds in the sky. The snow was coming down quickly, in thick, fat flakes that already covered the road. As Conan glanced out the window, a tickle suddenly entered his nose.

"Ah, _ACHOO!_" He bent over, sniffling his nose. "_Oh, great_," he thought, "_That moron really _DID_ make me sick._"

Kazuha woke up. Still seeing that Heiji was asleep, she decided to go downstairs. Looking over at Ran, she smiled, "Still asleep, are we now?" She poked her forehead.

Ran slowly opened her eyes, "Mm..?" Getting up, she tried standing up straight. "Morning?"

Kazuha chuckled, helping her stand. "Yes, Ran," she said, trying to make her comprehend what she was saying.

Ran jumped up, "Oh." She looked down at Conan, realizing the kind of pale complexion he had today. "Conan, are you feeling all right?" she asked, kneeling down to him.

"I don't know..." he admitted, before sneezing again.

Upstairs, Heiji stirred. He heard the second sneeze just as he awoke. A smile crossed his face, "It looks like Ran and Kazuha won't be disappointed after all." He slowly got up from the bed and stepped out the door. He did his best to be quiet and not be heard, trying to hear if Conan was genuinely sick, or just had to sneeze.

Kazuha quickly shot a look up at Heiji, "You got him sick from yesterday!" Placing her hands on her hips, she popped her hip to the side, "And what have you accomplished?"

Heiji backed up, "Look, he could have caught that bug from anywhere before the few seconds I had him stand outside..."

Ran looked over her shoulder at Kazuha, "I'm sure Conan will be fine." She looked at Conan as she patted his head. "I'll just have to go to the store and bring back some soup for you."

Conan nodded to Ran, thankfully. He pulled the blanket over himself more. Looking down, he realized that he was still wearing her jacket. "Oh, Ran-neechan!" he called, "Here. You're going to need this." He took off the jacket and reached out to hand it to her.

"Oh, thank you." Grabbing the coat, she put it on. She grabbed the pink quilt that was spread out on the couch and put it on Conan. She turned towards Kazuha, "Are you coming?"

Kazuha already had her jacket and shoes on, "Yup!" She opened the door. Ran and Kazuha soon were off walking down the sidewalk.

Heiji turned to Conan. "And, uhh... I'll be right back," he said with a wink.

"Where do you think YOU'RE going?" asked Conan, flatly.

"Just uhh.. to go tell Kazuha something! I'll be right back!"

Conan sat up, intent on following him, when he suddenly felt a bit woozy. He sunk back down into the couch, preferring to just sit and wait for everyone to come back. "Just lock the door on the way out, Hattori!"

"Okay!" But his voice told that he was already too much of a distance away.

Heiji soon approached Doctor Agasa's house. He walked up and rang the doorbell.

Nagi groggily opened the door, but immediately grew a smile at the sight of Heiji. "It's you!" he said, surprised. He opened the door wider to let him in, as if it was his own house. "Why did you come?" he asked curiously.

"I'm looking for the girl," told Heiji, "I need her help."

"What do you want me to do?" asked Ai, walking up to the two of them, still in her pajamas.

"I uhh..." he glanced towards Nagi. "Can I talk to you in private for a moment?"

Ai shrugged, "Sure." The two of them walked through the living room and downstairs, leaving the door open.

"So what is it you want?..."

As soon as Ran was done with her grocery shopping she was already walking down the sidewalk beside Kazuha. "Heiji, shoving the kid outside in the cold..." She muttered to herself.

"Oh Kazuha, Conan will be fine when I'm done making him this soup.." Ran assured her.

Conan sat on the couch, hearing the door click open. He looked up at the girls. "Welcome back, Ran-neechan, Kazuha-nee-_ACHOO!_" He rubbed his nose again.

Outside the house, Heiji was approaching from the sidewalk. "_I can't believe she gave it to me..._" he thought, staring at the little foil packet in his hand. He could still see her in his mind's eye:

_"Okay, I'll give it to you, but only under one condition," Ai had stated calmly, turning around to find something in a drawer. She turned back, holding a pill in a foil wrapper in the air. "I wanted to make a more permanent drug, so I used different ingredients in this one. The only thing is, I don't know how long it lasts. So what I need you to do is time it for me- from the moment he takes the pill, to the moment that he reverts back. Got it?..."_

Heiji smiled to himself, walking in the doorway.

Kazuha was sitting on the couch. "Where were you?" she inquired, looking at a book.

Ran was in the kitchen cleaning up here and there. She poked her head out of the kitchen doorway, "Heiji, where did you go?"

"I was just getting a special medicine from Doctor Agasa. He said it's sure the make him better within a day!" He smiled and approached Conan, pulling out the pill. "Here."

Conan merely looked at him, knowing well what that pill would do. "No thanks..." He continued with his soup.

Sensing it would be bad to simply drop it in his food, Heiji persisted. "But it will make you all better! Then we can go outside and play in the snow!"

Not enjoying being treated like a kid, Conan decided to turn the tables. "But I don't want it! Medicine's icky!" He then put on the most innocent face he could muster.

Walking out of the kitchen, Ran looked down at what Conan was refusing. She wiped her hands on the apron she was wearing. She leaned forward with her hands on her knees, looking at Conan. Trying to change the subject, she immediately and randomly felt his head with her palm. "Mmm, pretty warm." She stood up. "I'll find some medicine for you, okay?" she said, turning her way to the kitchen as she pointed to that area.

"But this is supposed to be really good stuff, Ran! The professor has used it before and he swears by it! Haven't you ever wondered why he's so rarely sick?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly, looking at Ran.

"BUT I DON'T WANT IT!" cried Conan, putting on a mini tantrum for a moment. Heiji glanced at him angrily, a vein popping in his head.

"You will TAKE IT and feel BETTER..."

Sitting beside Conan, Kazuha looked over at him as well, "I wonder that too." She looked at Ran in the corner of her eyes. Ran was still in the standing position with her finger pointing towards the kitchen. She looked down at Conan. There was a pause of silence between the four.

Ran took her finger and pressed it into her cheek gently, putting her other hand on her right hip. "Y-Yeah, I do."

Kazuha closed the book shut that she was reading. "Ran, I'll help you in the kitchen."

She walked up to her as she turned her around with her arm on her shoulder, she looked at Heiji and Conan. "We'll leave the boys here."

Ran scratched the back of her head, still not knowing what was going on. "Uh, o-okay.." She walked back into the kitchen.

"Hehe," went Heiji, looking down at him again now that they were all alone. "So. What's the big deal? Can't handle being yourself around Ran anymore?" He laughed a little. Conan blushed and stared at him.

"Of course I can. But..." he looked to the now-shut kitchen door. He tried to think of a good reason to refuse it. Now that he thought of it, there are actually more reasons to be Shinichi than to be Conan in this situation. He sighed, looking down. Heiji raised his eyebrow again and bent over towards him.

"Well?..."

Conan turned his head to the side. "Okay. You're right..."

Kazuha gave a long sigh/moan. "What is with Heiji and that kid?" She turned her head towards the door. Ran was giggling softly, looking back at her. Kazuha rose a brow. "What's so funny?" she muttered.

Ran turned towards the pot that was burning on the stove, "It's just, those two act so much like brothers." Stirring the soup, she glanced at Kazuha.

She gave a slight smile. "Mm, I guess," she said, shrugging.

Ran jumped up as she hit her head with the burning spoon, "I forgot celery!" She looked up at her forehead as steam came off of the spoon. "UwaAaAaAh!" she handed the spoon back to Kazuha. "Ow, Ow, Ow," Ran said, rubbing her forehead. Kazuha laughed. "It's not funny!" shouted Ran.

Kazuha waved her hands, "S-sorry, okay, lets go get some celery." She imitated Ran putting the spoon on her head as she talked. Walking out of the kitchen, Kazuha was still snickering, looking at Ran.

Just as the girls entered the room, Heiji was helping Conan take a drink from a water bottle. At the same moment Conan looked up at them, he felt the first pound in his chest. "AHHH!" he said, grabbing his shirt. Heiji realized that they were still in the living room. He turned to the girls.

"It will take a moment for the pill to kick in. For now we should let him rest in his room for a few hours. He can call us if he needs anything." He smiled to them, then quickly picked up Conan and rushed down the hallway, Conan letting out another yell as the pain became more intense.

Tilting her head over Kazuha's shoulder, Ran quietly replied. "O-Okay.."

Grabbing Ran's arm, she was already tugging it outside of the door. "Come! Let's go, before the store closes for lunch."

Ran jumped up. "We have to hurry!" She ran down the stairs and to the sidewalk, now holding Kazuha's arm.

Heiji lay Conan down onto the bed. He quickly rushed to his bag, pulled out some adult clothes, and tossed it next to him. "Oh yeah, almost forgot." Heiji looked at his watch and clicked it, setting it to record the time.

Conan squirmed. He struggled under a blanket, and as soon as the girls were out of earshot, he let out one really loud scream...

Heiji stepped out the bedroom door, running down to the windows to see if the girls were anywhere near. Nope, the coast was clear. He turned around and looked down the hallway to the bedroom he was just in. He slowly approached it again, before knocking on the door gently.

"Kudou? Are you decent?..." he opened it slowly. "Huh? Where'd he go?!" The bed was empty, the clothes were gone, and the window was opened. This time it did not take a detective to figure out what happened with Shinichi.

--------------End Chapter 6--------------


	7. The Arrival

--------------Chapter 7: The Arrival--------------

"So, we'll take this, this, AND this!" Ran said cheerfully.

Kazuha stood behind her. "Uh, Ran, dontcha think you're taking a bit too much?" she questioned, raising her hand out to her.

Ran stopped and looked down at her full basket, "Eh, maybe." Soon after that, they were done, and Ran and Kazuha were already heading home. "We should stop by Agasa's later, just to check up on Mr. Botan." Ran said, looking up at the sky. "I still want to find out more information about my Dad's disappearance." She looked over her shoulder, hearing sniffling. "Eh?" Ran stopped, turning around at Kazuha. "Is it something I did, or said?" Ran asked, tiliting her head.

Kazuha clenched her fists, raising them to her chin. "You're so strong Ran!"

Ran embarrassingly chuckled, "Thank you..?"

Kazuha grabbed her arm, "I bet Conan is feeling better, we should hurry."

Ran gave a worried look. "I hope so."

Heiji turned back to the living room and sat down on the armchair, putting his head in his hand. "_Ugh. So he doesn't even tell me that he plans to skip out on me, and leave me all alone in this house. What a considerate guy..._" But then his eyes opened up as he realized something. He pulled out his phone and started writing a text message to Kazuha.

"_Kazuha, come back as soon as you can. I need to talk to you... PS. There's no orange juice, can somebody please pick up some?_"

"_There,_" he thought, "_Maybe now Kudou can meet up with her alone, like he probably planned._"

Receiving his text message, Kazuha sighed. "Great, I have to go back to the store and get something for Heiji."

Ran turned around, "Oh, I'll get it." She insisted.

Kazuha shook her head,"No, no, you just head home. I'll be there soon."

Ran handed her the bags. "No, it's fine, I'm probably quicker than you anyways," she said, already jogging to the store.

Watching Ran run off she gave a sweat drop. "_You were the one about to buy at least 30, 35 items in there.._." she shrugged as she walked home.

After getting what she had gone in for, Ran was already walking out of the store. She walking down the sidewalk, everyone looking at her, noticing her from the newspapers from what happened a couple of nights ago, with Nagi. She ignored their looks, continuing to walk home alone.

Opening the door, Kazuha walked in. "Home," she announced, closing the door as she leaned back, she walked into the kitchen as she started to put stuff away. "Ran's getting your orange juice, Heiji!" she yelled from the kitchen.

Heiji jumped up, hearing her. He went over to the kitchen. "Ah, thanks! Umm.." He blinked, looking at all the things she brought in. "Need any help?" He asked it, but started to put away things regardless.

"No, no, it's fine!" she quickly took the items that Heiji put away and moved them around. "You don't know where these things go, anyway. You're getting everything all mixed up."

Heiji huffed. "Geez, I just thought I'd help so that it looks nice for when Kudou gets here," he noted, nonchalantly.

"Really?!" she squealed, just putting away the milk. She ran to the livingroom and looked out the window. "Is he coming?" she turned back Heiji. "Do you know?"

Heiji nodded, "Yeah, he just called me and told me. Too bad I don't know how long he'll be here."

Behind a wall stood Shinichi, breathing a little heavily, but actually feeling a bit better. A shadow grew on the other side of the wall. Shinichi watched as Ran walked by, a bag with orange juice swinging by her arm, apparently ignoring everything and everyone around her. "R-Ran!" he called out, stepping out of the alleyway and towards her. He pulled out a single rose and held it in front of him. "I hope I didn't scare you. I heard you were having a bad week, and..." He took a breath, "I just couldn't leave you alone at a time like this."

Ran merely just looked down at her feet, "Oh..." she quietly replied. She looked up at him. "I guess you want to come home with me?" she said, pointing in the direction behind her apartment. She was confused, how all of the sudden he decided to pop out, out of nowhere.

"If you don't mind, yeah. I think it would be best." He started to walk beside her. Out of nowhere, he started to laugh. "Hey, do you remember how your dad always acted when we were younger? The times when he was clumsy and we thought it was so funny... Now that I remember it, I don't know if he was genuinely tripping or if he was doing it just to make us laugh.."

Not looking at his face, she simply turned her attention to the cars that were driving by, "Heh, yeah..." She looked back at Shinichi and smiled slightly, then looked up at her house. Walking up the steps, she rattled the door open. "I'm- we're home." Ran said while walking into the livingroom, she looked back at Shinichi.

Heiji turned towards the door. "Ah, Kudou!" He almost stopped himself from saying it, but quickly remembered that, this time, it was okay to call him that. "It's good to see you!"

Shinichi nervously put his hand behind his back. "Heh, hey there Hattori." He turned to Ran, seeing her face still sad. "_Geez, if she can't even be happy that I'm here, then what was the point of all this?_" he thought to himself.

"Kazuha! He's here. Come on out and say 'Hi'!" said Heiji, poking his head back in the kitchen.

Kazuha jumped up, clapping her hands together, "Ah, Kudou's here!" She looked at Ran, noticing no excitment in her. "Hmm?" she poked Ran, "You okay?" Ran handed the orange juice to Heiji and walked upstairs. Closing the door behind her, she slid her back against the door. Streaks of tears came sliding down her face. She smiled as she wiped them away with the back of her sleeve, "_He's here, he really is here_." She stood up.

Kazuha looked at Shinichi, "She probably needs me." she said with a fake laugh. She ran up to the room.

Heiji stared at Shinichi, dumbfounded, holding the orange juice. "What happened?"

"I... I don't know... She wasn't happy at all, not for a moment, even when I tried to make her laugh..." Shinichi looked to the floor.

"You didn't try to laugh by making fun of her, did you?" asked Heiji seriously, looking him in the eye.

"NO! No, I'm not that insensitive, you know," he steamed at him. "Well.. what to do now?" Shinichi sighed, looking up at the ceiling. It seemed so low now.

"Here," Heiji raised up the juice, "You can help me finish putting the groceries away. Kazuha left a whole 'nother bag in the kitchen."

Shinichi gave him a look, but then figured that it couldn't be THAT bad. If Ran didn't want him nearby right now, she must have a reason.

He looked back to her room nonetheless, before following Heiji to the kitchen. Heiji was lucky he was here now, since he was putting everything in the wrong place.

"No, that goes over here, on the top shelf," Shinichi reached over for a step stool, but stopped when he remembered he could place things up high with ease now. He also could not help but notice how every ingredient he pulled out of the bag could be used in his favorite foods. He made a sweet smile, looking up at the pantry as he put the last box away.

"Hey, they're still in there," whispered Heiji, looking down the hall to Ran's room. Shinichi walked over behind him. He took a glance at him, before continuing his steps towards the door. He knocked twice. "Hey? Ran?..."

Kazuha opened the door, she took a glance at him and quickly walked out and into the livingroom. Ran sat on the bed, looking up at him she quickly got up. "I'm sorry if you think that while you are here, I'm not happy about it, Shinichi..." She looked down at her feet, trying to catch her breath, "I am, really, it's just, dealing with my Dad, I'm not going to be cheerful right now."

Shinichi looked back to Heiji and Kazuha, down the hallway. Heiji made a quick smile. Shinichi smiled briefly back. He stepped into the door and closed it softly behind him. He walked over to the bed and sat beside her. "I know. You don't have to say anymore..." Slowly and carefully, using every bit of his energy to make it perfect, he raised his arm behind her, and wrapped it to her other side, before giving her a light squeeze. "Sometimes, keeping silent about your feelings is the best way to express them." He looked up to her sparkling eyes.

Kazuha looked down the hall at the closed door. She turned around and sat down beside the window nearest to her. She looked outside silently, thinking deeply about the stuff that was going on lately. "_Why doesn't Ran admit it too? She was sexually harrassed as much as I was, but yet, she doesn't want to say anything_." Thinking that, she sighed deeply.

Ran blushed. She looked over at his hand that was on her arm, then into his eyes. "Y-yeah.." she said embarrassingly. She giggled, "I really am glad you're here, Shinichi." She jumped up as she walked towards the door, "Are you thirsty, hungry?" She asked with a smile on her face.

Shinichi smiled back. "Umm.. just some water will do fine. Should I come with you?" He added, standing up.

"You may if you want..." she said, opening the door. She looked down the hallway glancing at Kazuha. "Kazuha, are you okay?" She walked towards her.

Kazuha looked at her, then looked away replying, "Yeah."

Shinichi walked out the door. "Huh?" He glanced at Kazuha. "What is she so worried about?" he wondered.

Heiji stepped up to her. "Kazuha? Are you sure?"

Kazuha rolled her eyes to Ran, then to Heiji. "Yeah I'm fine." She got up. "I want to find that other guy who attacked us."

Ran looked at the ground, stepping toward her. She looked at her and whispered in her ear, "Don't mention anything about what happened." She turned away towards the kitchen. Kazuha looked down as well. She cleared her throat, watching Ran walk away.

Shinichi suddenly gained a serious look again. "It's okay, Ran... If I have anything to say about it, NOBODY will hurt you ever again." His eyes flashed, as a sly grin grew across his face.

Heiji, not wanting to look bad, jumped in as well. "Same goes to you, Kazuha!" His body became rigid, remembering the guy they put away from the grocery store the day before.

Ran and Kazuha both smiled. Ran stepped out of the kitchen and onto the couch, Kazuha sat beside her. "You guys are like brothers to us," Kazuha said, giggling.

Ran blushed as she pulled her legs up to her chest, "Yeah, they are." She began to look around, "Hey, where's Conan?"

"Uh, ah, I'll go check on him!" said Heiji. "Will you come with me, Kudou? Goodness knows you haven't seen the little squirt in... how long?"

Shinichi laughed, thinking, "_Not long enough_." "Sure, I'll come see him." The two went over to the bedroom and stepped into it.

Shinichi rushed over to his little clothing on the bed and pulled up his bowtie. He spoke into it, and out came Conan's voice. "Shinichi-niichan! Yay, you came!"

Heiji held his hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter.

Shinichi put the bowtie down. "Yeah, little guy! I was hoping you guys would be all right, but I see that's not the case." He put the bowtie back up.

"Nope, I'm sick. Also, Ran-neechan has been crying a lot lately-" Heiji suddenly grabbed the bowtie from Shinichi's hands.

"I think you should go hug and kiss her and make her feel better!"

Shinichi reached for the bowtie as Heiji tried to keep it away. He finally snatched it back.-

"That is, if you're into that sort of thing!" Shinichi blushed horribly, giving Heiji the evil eye. Heiji tried once more to quiet his laughter. Shinichi put the bowtie back down.

"Well, anyway, get better okay! It was nice seeing you." He picked it up again.

"Bye Shinichi-niichan! Bye Heiji-niichan! I'm going to get some more sleep."

He put the bowtie back onto his clothes as the two of them walked out.

Kazuha looked down at Ran, who had snoozed off. Kazuha smiled as she moved her bangs out of her eyes, sliding away carefully. She walked upstairs. "I'm going to bed," she said, looking at Shinichi and Heiji. Walking into the room she flopped onto the bed. She stared up at the ceiling, "_Why did I even come in here?_" She sat up. "_I'm not even tired_." She looked back at the window, it was snowing again. She smiled as she jumped up and looked outside, the room was dark. The only light she had was what was coming from outside.

Shinichi and Heiji glanced to each other. "So, what now?" asked Shinichi. "This drug lasts 24 hours, just like the last one, right? What kind of excuse will I give for leaving this time?"

"Well... actually... I kind of don't know how long this one will last," Heiji replied.

"Why didn't you ask Haibara?"

"Umm.. because there was no need..."

Shinichi glared at him. "Why is that?..."

Heiji gulped, "Because it was experimental... Neither of us know how long it's supposed to last. That's why I've gotta time it." He picked up his wrist and tapped his watch.

"You don't know?!" Shinichi hissed. "Experimental?! Ah great. Once again, I'm Haibara's guinea pig." He slapped his hand to his forehead and turned away. "Huh?" In front of him he spotted Ran asleep on the couch, in the most adorable position.

"I'm sorry."

Shinichi turned around from his daze, "For what?"

"For making you take the drug. It doesn't seem to have made anything better." Heiji sighed, turning to go back to the room they were just in. He closed the door, leaving Shinichi standing there on his own.

"That's not true..." He whispered, as he approached Ran and knelt down in front of her. "_If I could make her smile for even a brief moment, it's totally worth it._" He bent forward and kissed her lightly on the forehead. He then leaned back with a sigh, looking off into the window. Shinichi sat there for a while, until he found himself falling asleep. He leaned over, his head landing onto Ran's hand, and slipped into a light slumber.

--------------End Chapter 7--------------


	8. The Unplanned Capture

--------------Chapter 8: The Unplanned Capture--------------

Out on the cold, snowy street, however, a couple of men had plans for anything but a quiet night of sleep. Whispering to each other, their breath forming clouds in the air, they confirmed their idea for the night. The two of them nodded, as one walked off down the street, the other quietly darted up the stairs to the Mouri household. A quick slip of the key and turn of the knob, and open creaked the door... A scarily familiar man stepped into the room.

Kazuha, still awake, heard the noise. Opening the door to her room, she looked down the hallway. Quietly walking down the steps, she stood behind the wall. She looked to her left around the corner to see who, or what that noise was.

The man walked slowly up to Ran, thinking, "_Ah, my beauty. It seems you have a little boyfriend. Well, too bad for him, because I didn't get to do quite everything that I wanted to do, that night..._"

Kazuha noticed the figure, it was too dark to see who it was though. She took a step back quietly as her eyes widened. "_Oh, no.._" she thought to herself. She looked at Ran and Shinichi, who were both deeply asleep. She looked up stairs, then back to where the man was standing.

The man approached the sleeping Shinichi. Suddenly, he grabbed his shirt, picked him up, and threw him aside. Shinichi's head hit the table behind him, waking him up. He grabbed his head and opened his eyes. Immediately, he recognized the man, and he was... going towards Ran?!

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" he shouted, finding a cup on the ground and kicking it to the man's head. The man flew backwards and onto the floor. Shinichi glanced up to see Kazuha. "Quick, call the police!"

Kazuha nodded as she ran through them. Grabbing the phone in the kitchen, Ran woke up quickly. She sat up and looked at the dark figure, then at Shinichi. Kazuha looked at Ran as she held the phone, dialing the number repeatedly. "_Come on, come on..._" Then she yelled out, "It's not working, Kudou!" She looked back at Ran, seeing that she was still standing up, looking at the man. "Ran!"

Heiji, hearing the commotion, ran down the stairs. "What's going on here?!" He looked to the man on the floor, remembering his sight as well. He saw Shinichi step towards the man and check if he was awake. He turned then to Ran and Kazuha. "Are you okay?! He didn't do anything did he?!"

"No, luckily, it seems as if they're all right..." started Shinichi, "and so is he. He'll just be out for a while." He stood up, rubbing his head again. Lightening the mood for a moment, he joked, "Too bad I didn't get that luck.. heh heh." He immediately regained his seriousness, looking over to Kazuha, "Wait. Did you just say the police number wasn't working!?"

Kazuha nodded. "There's not even a dial tone," she said, pointing at the phone from standing in the kitchen. Ran knelt down to the man, moving his hair out of his face. She squinted her eyes, unable to see his face in the dark. Kazuha tried turning on the light, "Nor is the power working."

"Ah, hold on," said Heiji quickly, disappearing down the dark hallway. He returned a moment later with some candles and a lighter.

Shinichi walked over to him and took some. "Great idea, Hattori!" The boys immediately starting setting candles down around the room, lighting them one-by-one. When they were done, they sat down on the loveseat next to each other. They both blinked, gazing around the room for a moment.

"Uhhh..."

"Heh, let's switch seats, Ran!" asked Heiji, "This looks a little too romantic for me to be sitting next to HIM..."

"Heh heh... yeah..." started Shinichi, "No wait, you mean you want her to sit next to me?" He blinked, then shook his head, "Nah, haha this isn't quite the time for something romantic anyway." He blushed and looked down.

Ran blushed, looking away. "Uh, okay." She got up and sat beside Shinichi, grabbing a lighted candle, she looked around the room, then back at the unconscious man laying on the floor, studying him. She knew she had seen him from somewhere. Kazuha immediately sat down beside Ran.

"Creepy, huh Ran?" she said, smiling and nudging her in the side. Ran laughed fakely.

There was a sudden knock on the door. Heiji stood up and approached it, listening. "Who is it?"

"It's the police! We got a report of a break-in!"

Heiji turned to the room, his eyebrow raised. "Did any of you?..." He turned back to the door. "Umm... Nobody called the police here, sir. How did you know there was a break-in?..."

"Ah, we got a call from the neighbors. Anyway, may I come in?"

Heiji stared at the door doubtfully. But suddenly it opened on its own. In came another oddly familiar man, dressed up in cop's clothing.

Kazuha fell back as her eyes widened, dropping the candle she had in her hand to the ground. It went out. Kazuha inched herself against the door behind her. She couldn't speak. Ran looked down at her, then back at the man. "It's you.." she quietly said.

"It's who, sweety?" the man asked, walking closer to Kazuha, but speaking to Ran. "I'm just a friendly neighborhood cop, reporting to activity that occurred in this house. Just to be safe though..." he put his sinister face up close to Kazuha's pale one, "I think we should perform a full body search..."

"YOU SICKO!" shouted Heiji, running towards him with more fury than ever imagined. The man turned around, and just as Heiji went to jump at him, the man blocked it. He grabbed Heiji's arm and twisted it.

"This is what you get for putting me away again the other day! You also stopped me from achieving my goal..." he looked down to Kazuha, hungrily.

"GAH! DAMN YOU! YOU DIRTY SON OF A-" screamed Heiji, wincing through the pain. He did his best to try and kick out and knock the man over, but he jumped and avoided it.

"You think you can outsmart me, you little punk?! Think again!"

Ran quickly got up as she tackled the man to the ground. Kazuha stared at him, still frightened. She looked at Heiji, "Heiji, a-are you okay?" she said, extending her hand out to him.

Heiji managed to wiggle his arm loose. He looked up to Kazuha in front of him. He reached out his arm and took her hand. "Y-yeah. I think so. Are you?..." He was still for a moment, as it suddenly occurred to him that he was holding Kazuha's hand.

Over on the couch, Shinichi was in the middle of a sneezing fit. As soon as it stopped, he looked over to the group, then rushed over to help Ran keep the man down.

Kazuha felt her hand shake, taking it back, she came closer to the wall. She was burying her face into her knees. Ran got up noticing the man behind her was waking up. She knelt down to Kazuha, "It'll be okay."

Heiji saw the man awake. He jumped over to him, holding him down as well. "Girls, do you think you can do us a really big favor?" Both he and Shinichi watched the girls carefully.

Kazuha looked up at Heiji, Ran turned to look as well, "What is it?"

Heiji sighed. "Okay, now remember- the bad guys are in HERE. They're not out on the streets anymore. They're.. well, SOMEHOW, not behind bars anymore either..." He peered down at the man beneath him, realizing that he was, indeed, supposed to be in jail. "So it's okay to go outside for a minute. We just need you to run to the nearest neighbor or payphone and call the police. The REAL police. Do you think you can do that?" The boys looked to them expectantly.

Kazuha had already got up, walking passed them, and out the door. Ran got up, holding the lower part of her stomach. She was following from behind. She had already noticed Kazuha was at a pay phone that was on the side of the house. Ran looked at her as she stood on the stairs.

"Thank you." Kazuha told the policeman on the phone. Hanging up the phone, she looked up at Ran. She ran to her, putting her hand over hers. "Ran you're bleeding!"

Ran looked down and took a step back, "I-I didn't even notice.." she said, lying. She waved her hand, "I'm fine though.." she insisted.

Shinichi pushed down onto the man tightly, essentially pinning him to the floor. As he watched him squirm he remembered what he said to Kazuha, about not doing everything he wanted to do the other night. He looked over to the guy Heiji was keeping down, and then realized... "Oi, Hattori..." he hissed.

"What is it, Kudou?" asked Heiji, looking up.

"Do you think..." he paused, "Do you think... Maybe that guy... Maybe he meant to do stuff to Ran as well?..."

Heiji looked down at him, the man managed to chuckle. "Meant to? Oh my boy, I meant to FINISH what I STARTED..."

Shinichi's eyes flew open. Heiji's jaw dropped, as they both stared at the man. Shinichi could feel the anger bubbling inside him. Is this how it felt for Heiji before? He fought the urge to jump up and strangle the man, instead taking out his frustration by digging his fingers into the man beneath him's skin, pinching him.

Ran's eyes flew open as she looked away. She stepped into the apartment, looking down at the man. She turned away again. Kazuha was still outside on the stairs. She didn't want go in and face that man again. Ran fell to her knees, her bangs covered the upper part of her face, "Why did you do that to me and Kazuha?" she asked calmly.

The man under Heiji chuckled again. "Because, darling... We know we can!" He looked to the both of them. "I always thought that girls who think they're tough are attractive. One day my buddy here saw you practicing your kendo," he looked to Kazuha. "Likewise, I've seen this fine-looking lady walk out of a karate class before." He nodded towards Ran. "And thing is, I think it's essential in this society to put self-righteous women in their place, right bud?" He glanced to the other man.

"Please stop pinching me," he squeaked. Shinichi just raised an eyebrow and dug his nails in deeper.

Ran looked over her shoulder at Kazuha. Kazuha, of course, was still in shock. Ran began to feel a tear fall down from her face, she wiped it away quickly as she soon heard the police come. Kazuha and Ran immediately ran to the couch and sat down.

"So then... Before the police take you away... Do you care to explain how you got back out of jail?..." asked Heiji.

"Or must we?" continued Shinichi.

The men did not say anything. One merely grunted, while the other made another squeak.

"It's quite simple..." started Heiji. "Are you sure you don't want to tell? You've already made it obvious." He looked down at the man beneath him.

The man stayed silent, watching the door that the police would come through any minute.

"J-JUST GET IT OVER WITH!" whined the one that Shinichi was pinching.

Shinichi let out a laugh, "Well if you put it that way, maybe we won't say anything at all..."

"No," said Heiji. He kept an eye on the man beneath Shinichi. "So, you're a retired cop, are you? Or perhaps who quit? Or, given your outlook, you're a cop who was fired?"

"H-How did you know?" he squeaked out.

"Let him be a bit, Kudou." asked Heiji. Shinichi frowned and loosened his grip.

"Thank you," the man breathed.

"Oh, you BETTER be thankful- Thankful we didn't beat you to a pulp before the cops arrived!" Heiji called, unable to keep it in. "Okay, I didn't mean to slip that." He sighed. "Anyway..."

"Your cop uniform is a bit outdated," said Shinichi, looking down at it. "See here? They changed the motto a couple years ago on the badge. But it's so small that most people don't notice it."

Heiji nodded. "And we know you didn't just steal a uniform for a few reasons. First of all, you actually know a bit of police training. How else did you pin me down so well? That's something the police might do with tough criminals, before getting handcuffs on them. Also," he continued, "You, or rather, you and your partner here, managed to trick the police in a Tokyo jail. You really think we'd believe that you were released legitimately, so soon, after the case that night? We saw you in the store. It was pretty stupid of you to try and rob a store so soon."

"I wasn't robbing the store," the man sighed. "It was... I harrassed that cashier before.. and she recognized me. I didn't realize it was her, but after she saw me she just had to call out that I was stealing. I had money in my pocket from a previous occassion."

Shinichi looked down, "So you had your friend here dress up in your cop uniform, enter the jail claiming to be a Kansai cop, and help you escape. Just as you did for him some night before... right?"

"That makes you the cop who took the key from Conan that day, after he pulled it out of your friend's jacket," finished Heiji.

The man beneath Heiji made a laugh. "Well, sure. And you can claim that all you want. But before I broke him out I went into the police files and erased our names and fingerprints. There is no evidence whatsoever that either of us have ever done anything wrong. In fact, we even wiped our fingerprints from the key."

"And which key might that be?" asked Shinichi.

"The key to this house's front door, clearly." he scoffed.

Shinichi laughed. "No matter. That's not the key that will incriminate you anyway."

The man opened his eyes, "What do you mean?..."

"He means," Heiji continued, using a napkin to pull a key from his pocket. "That you never wiped your fingerprints from THIS housekey."

The man opened his eyes wide. "W-What?! That's impossible!"

"No, really, it's not," smiled Heiji. "After your friend here," he referred to the man under Shinichi, "was taken down by me, he knocked the key out of Conan's hand. What actually happened was that he knocked Conan's own personal key out of his pocket. The key that he took from you ended up falling under a nearby display with none of us knowing. Conan then picked up his own key without realizing it, and handed it over to you- the fake cop." He glanced at the man he was holding down. "We noticed it later on, after Conan went to get changed and couldn't find his key in his pocket."

"So this guy here called me up," continued Shinichi, nodding toward Heiji. "He told me about it, so I went to the store the next day and found it. Luckily, it was well-hidden and nobody else touched it. Therefore..." his eyes flashed, "only your fingerprinted should be on it." The men just stared at the young detectives, disbelieving.

Ran and Kazuha listened to the conversation, looking at each other. The two of them watched as the men were taken away by the newly-arrived cops. Kazuha let her head fall back against the couch, "GaAaAah..." She rubbed her head. "Earlier I wasn't, but now I'm tired..." she whined to Ran.

Ran giggled softly. Trying to keep her head up, she laid on the couch. "Just, just go upstairs," Ran said, waving her arm back and forth.

Kazuha got up, hunched over. She stopped, looking at Heiji and Shinichi," Thank you." She then walked off out of the room. She wasn't quite asleep yet. She was looking outside again. Ran was already quietly snoozing on the couch, curled up in a ball with her hands touching her lips. Sitting beside the window, Kazuha was in a daze. "_Tough night,_" she thought. Looking up at the sky, she watched the flakes of snow gently fall and hit the ground. She had grabbed the big blanket that was laying on the floor and wrapped it around her. She slowly, and quietly, fell asleep.

Heiji and Shinichi had gone outside to explain the story again to the police. By the time they came inside they found Ran alone, asleep again on the couch. The boys exchanged a look.

"It seems that, even after all that, they can still manage to be so tired." Shinichi shook his head slowly, with a small smile.

"Yeah, I wonder where Kazuha is," pondered Heiji, looking around the room.

"She probably went back to bed too."

The two stood there for a moment, reflecting on what just happened. "So they can never get out again, right Kudou?" Heiji looked to him.

"I don't think they can. From the start it seems to only have been them two. Besides, I'm sure every officer in the prison is memorizing their faces right now. There's no way they can pass as regulars from Kansai." Shinichi peered off out the window.

Heiji nodded, "I bet every cop in my district is doing the same thing, just in case. Well, I'm awfully tired. I think I'll be hitting the hay too." With that, he disappeared down the dark hallway.

Shinichi looked across the candle-lit room. The wax was getting low, but the flames were still bright, casting a warm, flickering glow over the sleeping Ran's face. He wished he could stand there and just admire her forever. But he felt a wave of sleepiness wash over him, so he started around the room, extinguishing the candles as he went by. When he got down to the table in front of Ran, there was only one candle left. He went to put it out, but stopped, noticing the shape that the poured wax was making. A little red heart had formed at its base. "_Is it a sign?_" he pondered, before sitting down on the couch opposite Ran, lying down, and putting it out as well.

--------------End Chapter 8--------------


	9. Snowy Morning

--------------Chapter 9: Snowy Morning--------------

The morning came brighter than normal, with a couple rays of sunshine pouring in through the detective agency's window. The extra light came from the sheen of the blanket of snow covering the ground. Shinichi woke up and squinted his eyes, which were not yet adjusted to such brightness. He put his hand up to block the light from hitting his eyes too strongly, as he glanced over to Ran. She was still sleeping with her hands over her mouth, just as she had fallen asleep last night. He let out a sweet smile, wanting so badly to hug her.

Kazuha was still in the same sitting position she was in last night- beside the window, asleep. Ran on the other hand, was beginning to wake up.

"Mmm..." she said as she opened her eyes and saw Shinichi. She closed her eyes again, still with her hands to her mouth. "Shinichi, why you looking at me like that?" she whispered, opening an eye, waiting for a answer.

Shinichi jumped back into the seat. "Ah, ahh, looking at you like what? I wasn't looking at you like anything! I was waiting for my eyes to focus, heh heh." He waved his hand back and forth, his cheeks a light pink.

Still half awake, she didn't say anything more. She closed her eyes again and curled up in ball even more then she was before. Kazuha walked downstairs, yawning. "Ran, you're still not awake?" She put her hands on her hips.

"I'm awake," Ran yelled out to her from the couch, almost slurring her words.

Kazuha rubbed her own back. "I'm going to take a shower," she said, as she closed the bathroom door behind her.

Shinichi sat up, watching Kazuha walk away. He then looked down to his hands, resting on his lap. He started to wonder, "_It's already been 24 hours... How much time will this new drug give me?_" He turned his head back up to the hallway.

In Conan's room, Heiji made a big stretch and yawn. He looked over to where Conan's make-shift bed was. "_Hm. I wonder how Kudou's doing..._" He stood up, wavering from side to side in his morning semi-slumber. He reached into his bag for some clothes and got dressed, before walking out of the room and into the hallway. He looked up to see Shinichi watching him. He smiled. "How's it going, Kudou?"

Shinichi returned the smile, "It's all right, Hattori." He looked back to the sleeping Ran. Heiji heard the shower water start, noticing he will have to make his own breakfast today. He went into the kitchen to prepare some toast.

Ran rose up, rubbing her eyes. Hearing the bathroom water go, she walked towards the bathroom and knocked on the door. "Kazuha, don't use all of the hot water like last time, okay?" she said with a fake smile.

Kazuha yelled out, "But, without hot water-!" before she could finish, Ran had opened up the door. "Cold! Cold! UGH RAN!" Ran had flushed the toilet purposely.

"Don't-use-all-of-the-hot-water," Ran stated as she crossed her arms. She walked out, "Shinichi, are you hungry?" She closed the bathroom door behind her.

Shinichi stood up, "Yeah, I could use a little food." He took a few steps toward her, when he looked down and realized that he was wearing the same clothes as from yesterday. He blinked, then turned towards the kitchen. "Hey Hattori! I umm..." he glanced at Ran, "I forgot to pack extra clothes... heh.." he turned back to the kitchen, "Can I borrow something clean for today?"

The toast popped out of the toaster and Heiji put it on his plate. "No, you can't!... Nah, I'm kidding, go ahead. In fact..." he walked over to the hallway, the toast on his plate, "How about you give one of these slices to Conan. He must be hungry by now." Shinichi perked up, remembering that Conan was supposed to be feeling better by now.

"Uh, I can't. Before anyone got up this morning I saw him go out the door. He said he was going to the Professor's house for a bit." Shinichi replied nervously.

Ran tilted her head disappointedly, "Aw, really?" She felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning around, Kazuha was wearing a towel. With door slightly opened, she pulled Ran back and slammed it shut. Kazuha had a grin on her face, "What is it now...?" Ran asked.

Kazuha pinched her cheeks, "That was the coldest shower I have ever had!" She continued pinching her cheeks, "You're lucky you're cute, Ran-chan."

Ran's eye brow twitched. "Feh, your da one whooo takes all of da hot water." Ran said as her cheeks were still being pulled. She put her hands down. "But now I can take one," she said, jumping up.

Heiji stared at the bathroom door, his mouth hanging open. Shinichi noticed him and laughed. "Don't get too entranced, now."

Heiji shook his head and looked to him, "Well maybe that's easy to do for someone who's had a bath in a hotspring with his girlfriend before."

Shinichi turned bright red, "T-That- Don't bring that up! Besides, how many times do I have to tell you, she's not my girlfriend." He looked away and started towards his room, to get changed.

"I beg to differ, my friend!" he called, picking up a piece of toast and munching on it.

After showering and getting dressed, Kazuha and Ran were still in the bathroom. Kazuha ran her fingers through Ran's hair. "How about a pony tail?" she said with a bright, curious smile. Ran looked at her hair in the mirror.

"Mmm, do you think it'll look good?"

Kazuha nodded frantically. After putting her hair into a pony tail, she had put a small spiral at the end of it with the curling iron and a black bow to keep it from falling out.

Kazuha pinched Ran's cheeks again. "So cute!" she squealed. Ran looked at her hair in the mirror, squinting her eyes and tilting her head. She looked back at Kazuha.

"Do you think so?"

Kazuha jumped up, "Mmhmm!" Ran sighed as she walked out of the bathroom, with Kazuha behind her. "We should go play outside in the snow, Ran!" she said, running towards the window and looking out.

Ran followed her. "Play?" she asked, looking at Kazuha.

Shinichi walked out of his room, in fresh, clean clothes. He quietly stepped up behind Ran, "What? And not make any breakfast for a dear friend that you haven't seen in a while?" He stepped back with a cheesy smile.

Ran twirled around, "Oh right!" She quickly went to the kitchen and put her white apron on as she fried up some eggs. Kazuha was still looking outside. After frying the eggs, she walked out into the living and set the plate of eggs, fried rice, and some fruit in a bowl out onto the coffee table. She looked at Kazuha, "I forgot to ask if you were hungry." She was about to walk back into the kitchen.

"No, no.. I'm fine," Kazuha said with a smile.

Shinichi sat down on the couch, the food in front of him. He smiled, "Wow, thanks Ran!" as he dug in.

Heiji stood in the kitchen doorway, watching him, cleaning the last few crumbs from his mouth. "Aw, and none of that for me. You're lucky that Ran knows how to cook. It's unfortunate that some of us don't get treated like that..." he glanced at Kazuha quickly.

Kazuha puckered her lips. "Gee, thanks," she said, rolling her eyes back to meet with Ran's.

Ran laughed nervously. "I'm not THAT good of a cook, Heiji," she insisted.

Kazuha had a fake smile. "No no, Ran you truly are a magnificent chef," she said, shooting a look at Heiji.

Ran took a took a step back. "Uh, I'll be in the kitchen cleaning," she said as she quickly disappeared from the scene.

Heiji put his dish away then came back, leaning against the wall behind Shinichi. Shinichi ate rapidly, surprised at his own hunger. He cleaned off his plate in record time, as Heiji simply stared. "Hungry much?" he asked.

Shinichi turned around and laughed, whispering to Heiji, "Well my stomach's not so little anymore. I guess it missed being properly full." He winked, before setting off to the kitchen to put the plate in the dishwasher. He went up to the machine, just as Ran stepped next to him. He stood for a moment, admiring her from his own height. He was able to see her freshly-dried, ponytailed hair shine in the sunlight. He couldn't help but watch her.

Ran looked in the corner of her eye back at Shinichi. She noticed he was staring at her. She continued putting the dishes away. "Are you still hungry?" she said, trying to catch his attention. She closed the dishwasher and looked up at him smiling, "or are you still tired?"

Kazuha sat down on the couch. "I can cook.." she muttered to herself. She puckered her lips and crossed her arms.

Heiji raised his hands in front of him, palms outward, "Ha, I-I never said you can't cook! Your cooking is very good! I was merely saying that umm.. That your cooking could never rival Ran's! Heh heh..." He nervously stepped away from the couch.

Shinichi watched her lips move, but the sound was delayed. Only after a few seconds did his brain register what she said. "Oh! Ah, no, I'm fine. I was just thinking, why don't we go out into the snow for a bit now? It seems like a good idea.." he glanced out the door, "It looks like those two need a change of subject anyway."

Kazuha got up, she looked down at Heiji. "PFFT," she hissed as she walked off.

Ran giggled, "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

Kazuha was already outside, all of the sudden, BAM! A snow ball hit her on the side of her face. Ran was giggling as she was clumping up another snow ball, ready to hit Kazuha again. Kazuha got up, quickly tackling her to the ground, "Ran-chan!" she said smiling. Kazuha had pinched her cheeks again.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow," Ran slurred.

Kazuha giggled, "Like I said, you're lucky that you're cute." Ran shoved a snow ball in her face. Kazuha fell back.

Ran got up, "Ah HA basic maneuver #2!" She took a step back as she slid on the sidewalk, then falling on her butt. "Ow, ow..ow." Kazuha was laughing her head off.

The boys puts on jackets and walked out the door. Heiji slipped on some gloves, picked up some nearby snow, and lobbed it right at Kazuha's head. "Hehe!" He quickly ran around the side of the house to hide from her, leaving Shinichi standing there. Shinichi looked around, then down at Kazuha.

"It wasn't me, I swear!" he put his hands up and backed to the wall.

Ran was giggling. Kazuha got up ,"Oh really.." She held a ball of snow behind her back.

Ran got up, noticing the snow ball. She took a step forward, "It was really-" she began to slide on the ice beneath her towards Kazuha, Kazuha looked over, seeing Ran gliding like a figure skater going 50 mph. Ran fell over Kazuha, then, sliding down the sidewalk, she did not realize that there was a hill going down. Ran covered her eyes as she basically jumped the air, then landed down the hill and glided.

Shinichi ran after them, finding them sliding and gently rolling down a hill. He couldn't help it, he burst out laughing. Heiji came out from the corner, "What's so funny?" He peered down to the girls, and started laughing as well. Shinichi put out an arm and rested it on Heiji's shoulder, trying to stay standing.

"You girls are such klutzes!" he managed to wheeze out. Heiji nodded in agreement, looking at their wind-chapped faces.

Ran took her hands off of her eyes, she looked around then at Kazuha. Kazuha fell back on her head. "Ran, you're the klutz," Kazuha said as she looked over at her. Ran's cheek became a soft pink from the snow. Getting up she grabbed ahold of Kazuha's arm to keep steady. They fell back down. "It's just slippery..." Kazuha muttered as she gave a look at Heiji. Ran began to giggle. Kazuha tried getting up again, then Ran wrapped her arm around her legs, bringing her down again. Kazuha raised her arms high in the air, "I give up." Ran laughed.

The boys relaxed and walked over, feeling pity. Shinichi held his hand out to Ran, while Heiji held his own out to Kazuha. Both had warm smiles as they looked down.

Getting up, Kazuha fell back down, still holding onto Heiji's hand, making them both fall. "Uwah!"

Ran got up, looking down at Kazuha, and giggled as she put her hand to her bottom lip. "Oh," she quietly said, as she blushed and smiled cheerfully.

--------------End Chapter 9--------------


	10. At the Skating Rink

--------------Chapter 10: At the Skating Rink--------------

"Ahh! Baho! What'd you have to go and do that for?" cried Heiji, rubbing his leg and staring at her coldly. "Now I look as clumsy as you!"

Shinichi looked from them to Ran. "Hey Ran," he whispered.

Kazuha had got up, "I'm not clumsy!" This time, she started walking away.

Ran looked at Shinichi. "Hm?" she said, still looking down at Heiji, then back at Kazuha who was walking off.

Heiji fumed at her, staying on the ground for a moment. "Ugh, too cold," with a little effort, he stood up. He watched her walk off and sighed. "Great, now I have to go follow her and cheer her up," he muttered, giving an exasperated glance to Shinichi and Ran, before running off after her. "Oi, Kazuha! I didn't mean it that way!..."

"Do you think we can go down to the skating rink? I haven't had time off enough to go skating in a long time." He looked at her rosy, cold cheeks, hoping she would accept.

Ran jumped up, "Of course!" She almost fell again, but caught herself by grabbing Shinichi's hand and pulling herself up. "We can go right now if you'd like," she said, letting go of his hand.

Kazuha turned around, then slid down the hill as if she were riding a snow board, stopping in front of Shinichi and Ran, "I'd love to go!" She noticed Shinichi's face, "Oh, wait, I uh- have to go somewhere!" she turned around and walked off.

Heiji ran up behind her, "Oi!! Wait!" As he caught up to her, far enough away from Ran and Shinichi, he hissed at her, "What was all that about? Where do you have to go all of a sudden?"

Shinichi tilted his head down a small bit, blushing lightly, as Kazuha went off again. "Th-Then let's go." He turned to Ran and smiled, starting to walk in the rink's direction. His rubbed his hands together, breathing into them. He merely grabbed a jacket off a hook near the doorway before leaving. He had no time to search for gloves, leaving him as the only one with his hands bare.

Kazuha looked into Heiji's eyes. "Oi, Ran hasn't seen Shinichi for I-don't-know-how-long. I just think they need time alone. Okay?" She turned back around and walked off. "Oh, and I think I'm just going to take a walk."

"Oh.. Okay, Kazuha..." Heiji stood back and sighed. "_I guess I'll be going for a walk too..._" He turned around headed off in the other direction.

Sitting down and putting on her skates, Ran took a look at Shinichi's hands. "Shinichi, your hands are pink." She took off her black gloves and put it on him. "There ya go," she said, smiling and getting up. She circled around him on the ice as she waited for him to put on his skates.

Shinichi looked up at Ran, feeling the warmth of the gloves. "But what about you? Won't your hands get cold?" He watched her, as he knelt down and finished lacing his skates. When done, he got up and skated toward her.

Ran shook her head. "I'll be fine," she smiled. She cupped her hands together. "I'll keep them warm this way!" she said, trying to sound smart.

"No, you don't have to do that." Shinichi took off his right glove. Reaching over for Ran's right hand, he slid the glove back onto it. He then took his bare right hand and grasped Ran's bare left hand firmly. "There. Now we can both be warm this way." He smiled.

Kazuha stopped. "I'm not clumsy," she muttered as she turned around, looking at Heiji. She had her hands behind her back and as she blushed. She looked away and kicked her heel on the ground. "Can I come with you?" she quietly asked.

Heiji stopped in his tracks. "What?" He turned around. "O-Of course you can." He shoved his hands in his pockets and waited.

Kazuha ran to Heiji and stopped as she began to walk ahead of him slowly.

Heiji started walking to catch up to her. "Are you okay? You seem kind of out of it. It's still not because of that cooking comment, is it? Look, if you want to prove yourself better, you can always cook lunch or dinner!..." He stopped, looking at her face.

Kazuha looked down at Heiji, "Of course that's not it." She poked his cheek, pushing him back. "I'm fine," she smiled.

Ran blushed furiously and looked away. "_He grabbed my hand! He grabbed my hand._" She jumped excitedly as she looked around with a smile.

Shinichi let out a little laugh, feeling just as giddy as Ran did. He squeezed her hand tightly and started skating faster. He turned his head and looked back to her, "I just hope you can keep up with me! After years of soccer practice, my legs are quite well trained- I'm not about to go slowly now!"

Ran was basically dragged. She gave a powerful look, letting go of his hand. She went ahead of him, "_Wait, how to stop?!_" She looked for what was infront of her. It was a young man with blonde hair. "Watch out!" She fell on top of him, rubbing her head, she looked down at him. "I'm s-so sorry!" she said.

He chuckled. "No, no, it's fine." He rubbed the back of his head. Looking at Ran, he gave a warming smile, "What's your name?"

Shinichi skated over to the other two. "I'm so sorry!" he said to both the man and Ran. He held his bare hand back out again so that Ran could get up off of him.

Ran was still sitting on top of the guy as she took Shinichi's hand. The man beneath her got up. "This guy your boyfriend?" he asked, brushing the snow off of himself.

Ran waved her hands back and forth embarrassingly, "No, we're just friends..." she said, smiling fakely.

The man came closer to her and gave a grin, "Then how about me and you grab something to eat?"

Shinichi's face burned red once more. He stepped between Ran and the man. "No thanks. She came here with me, she's eating lunch with me."

Ran smiled nervously. "Well, thank you for your offer," she said, turning away from him.

The man gave a wink at her, "Then I'll see you around, Miss."

Heiji gave Kazuha a curious look, "Are you sure? It seems like you're preoccupied."

Kazuha shrugged, "Eh, I guess I am." Putting her hands behind her head, she rolled her eyes to meet with his, "It's just the snow, it's cold..y'know?" she smiled. She didn't even know what she was saying so she thought to change the subject, "How do you think Ran and Shinichi are doing?"

Heiji smiled and looked down. "My guess is that they're bothering each other enough by now. Then again, they DO have lots to talk about, I'd expect."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Kazuha giggled, thinking of the perfect romance scene for Ran and Shinichi, she blushed. "How cute!" She said, jumping up.

Heiji blinked, "It's cute for them to be bothering each other? You really ARE weird." He nudged her with his elbow lightly.

Kazuha rubbed the back of her head. She laughed softly, then looked away. "But really, Shinichi should stay until we find out what happened with Ran's father." She nodded to herself.

"Yeah," Heiji peered up to the bright, afternoon sun. "I hope he can. With that case he has, though, you never know when he'll have to run off again."

Kazuha nodded in agreement. "Yeah," she smiled as she looked up at the sun as well.

Behind Ran's back, Shinichi gave the man a dirty look. He turned back and kept up the pace with Ran. "Ugh. What's with these random guys that ask girls that they don't even know out on dates. It's sick." He skated, his head down and his hands in his pockets.

Ran poked the side of Shinichi's face, "Don't look so down, you were the one who wanted to come, Mr. Detective." She smiled, then giggled.

Shinichi kept looking down, but made a soft smile. "You know Ran, I really admire you... "

Ran slid back an inch or so,"Y-you do?" She blushed, hardly believing it.

"Yeah, I do," continued Shinichi, still looking down. "You've been through so much. Going to all these murder cases, getting attacked, being stabbed through the stomach, losing your father... Then on top of all that, you have to deal with me..." He looked up at her, expressionless, "And yet you still find a way to smile."

Ran lowered her finger, the one she had poked him with. "Oh, that's why.." she said, looking away. "My Dad..." she repeated. She cleared her throat, trying to forget that situation. She looked at him and smiled. "I wouldn't say I have to _deal_ with you, Shinichi." She looked away with her hands behind her back, "It's just hard not knowing when you're coming back whenever you disappear on your friends, your family and everyone else."

"Well it's not easy on me either, you know. I never know when I'll..." he stopped for a moment, thinking of an appropriate way to put it, "... have a free moment to be able to come back home. Heck, right now I don't even know when I have to go back. Whenever I get a call saying that I have to leave, I've got to leave immediately." He look back down, thinking of all the times he abruptly skipped out on her, leaving her alone again. "I'd say that's having to deal with me..."

Ran nudged him in the arm. "I don't want to put it that way, Shinichi. I only worry if you're all right." She frantically looked around, "It's-uh, not-like, we're a married couple or anything, it's just, you're like family," she said, smiling to him.

He closed his eyes. "Ha, yeah. I'm like the troublesome little boy that disappears constantly-" He quickly opened his eyes again, realizing what he said. He turned to her, a strike of fear through his spine.

She had looked up at him, then looked down. Not responding, she sat. It was getting dark and nobody was there anymore. The only light they had to see each other by was the streetlight hanging over them. She looked up at the new night sky, "Should we start heading home?"

Shinichi blinked, looking around. "Wow, we were here for a while, weren't we?.. I suppose we should." He looked down at his one ungloved hand, then over at Ran's. He reached his hand out and lightly touched it, hoping she would understand without words.

Ran looked down at his hand and smiled. Taking it, she got up. She pulled him up and laughed, "Come on, _ I bet I can run faster than you with my karate kicking legs_!" she mocked him. But she stopped, giggling, as she pat his shoulder, "Just kidding."

--------------End Chapter 10--------------


	11. The Escape

--------------Chapter 11: The Escape--------------

Shinichi laughed, "Yeah yeah, whatever you say." He looked into her eyes with a smile, walking out of the rink and towards the house. "Hey Ran... Do we always have to-?... Ah, nevermind," he looked down, blushing.

Poking his nose, Ran leaned forward onto her tippy toes and looked into his eyes, "Aw, come on."

"Well..." continued Shinichi, to her usherance, as they stepped in front of the door and stopped. "Whenever people ask, do we always have to say that..." He picked up his head and looked to her with a slightly-worried expression, "we're.. NOT... boyfriend and girlfriend?..." He felt the heat emanate from his face, as well as the sweat in his palm holding Ran's hand.

Back by the house, Heiji was walking up the steps. "So will you be the chef tonight?" he asking, turning to Kazuha.

Kazuha came infront of Heiji, "Really!?" She opened the door and ran into the kitchen. "Hm, let's see, miso?" she scratched the side of her head.

Heiji came in and sat down on the couch. "Haha yeah, that sounds all right. Huh?" He looked out the window, seeing the outline of Ran and Shinichi approaching. "_Hmm. Looks like somebody else is almost home..._"

Kazuha began to throw out pans and pots onto the stove. She put on the same apron Ran was wearing earlier today and clapped her hands together. "Vegetables," she stated, going into the fridge.

Ran and Shinichi walked up the steps. Ran looked away from him, "Well, uh-" She suddenly heard the door open up from behind her.

Kazuha jumped onto her, "Ran! You're home! Thank goodness, I'm cooking right now!" She pulled Ran away from Shinichi and shoved her into the kitchen.

Shinichi stood there with his empty hand hanging down and his mouth open, as if he was going to say something. His face like a tomato, he stepped into the house and closed the door. He went to hang his coat back up, then remembered about the gloves. He looked over to the kitchen, but Ran was long gone. So he took it off and shoved it into the coat pocket.

Heiji looked up at him from the couch. "What's wrong, Kudou?" he asked. Shinichi merely glanced at him, expressionless. He felt drained, as he walked down the hall and into Conan's room.

After cooking dinner for a while, Kazuha walked out and put it on the table. She wiped the side of her face with the back of her wrist. "Finally." She looked over at Ran, who was walking down the hallway, "Ah, thanks for your help, Ran."

Ran smiled, "It's fine." She knocked on Conan's door, "Uh, Shinichi? Are you okay?" She realized after a hour or two of cooking in the kitchen, she didn't see him come out of the room at all.

Heiji walked into the kitchen and sat down, after having relaxed on the couch for a few hours, He nearly dozed off a few times, but was reawakened whenever he had something to contribute to the girls' conversation.

Shinichi turned over in the bed, hearing a voice. Groggily, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Huh? Uh, oh yeah, I'm just tired." He then realized that it was Ran's voice, and his face burned up again. "_Great. How can I face her now?_" He pushed the blanket aside and opened the door.

Kazuha took a bite of the meal she had prepared. She smiled happily, "It turned out great! The curry, I mean." She continued eating her share.

Ran took a step back, waving her hands back and forth, "Did I wake you? I didn't mean to, you can go back to sleep if you'd like." She turned back to the direction she came from. "I was just checking on you," she said, laughing embarrassingly.

"No! It's okay!" called Shinichi, hasting his way toward the kitchen. He sat down in the seat across from Heiji, who raised an eyebrow at him, a couple of noodles hanging from his mouth.

"And just where have YOU been?" he asked, after swallowing them.

"Heh, I just took a nap. That's all. Ohh, is this curry?" Shinichi asked, looking at the bowl.

Kazuha nodded. "I cooked it! Yes, yes I did," she said, putting a hand to her chest and smiling.

Ran was taking her pony tail out, "You did a good job, Kazuha."

Kazuha looked at Ran amazed, as if Ran was the one who was the famous head chef in the household. "So I've taken your place as head chef?"

Ran smiled, confused, "What?"

Shinichi looked up to Kazuha, "Yeah, what do you mean by that, Kazuha?..." Heiji glanced over at her too.

"I could be the second chef!" she said, jumping up.

Ran put up her pointer finger up questiongly, "Wait Kazuha, what do you mea-"

Kazuha pulled Ran's cheeks. "Me-second-head-chef," Kazuha said, playfully.

Ran rolled her eyes, with a sweat drop on the side of her face. "I still dun know whad you mean," she said, still with her mouth spread out.

Heiji looked at her worried. "You don't mean that... you'll be staying here for good... do you?"

Shinichi almost choked on the juice he was drinking.

Kazuha shrugged, "Maybe I should." She looked at Ran, who was rubbing her red cheeks. Kazuha wrapped her arms around Ran's waist. "Huh Ran?"

Ran looked down at Kazuha, "Eh?"

Kazuha put a finger to Ran's mouth, "No need to say anything else. I understand, I'll take care of you, like worrying about your schooling, friends who are being mean, and your first kiss-" she stopped, looking at Ran, "You never had your first kiss, have you?"

Ran took a step back, "Kazuha, what are you thinking..."

Kazuha smiled, then puckered her lips and came closer. "Uwah!" Ran fell to the ground. Kazuha fell down on top of her, hovering over her. "Mwah mwah mwah.." hummed Kazuha, as the side of her face was being pushed by Ran's hand.

Ran quickly slid away and into the kitchen. She looked down at the clear glass bottle Kazuha had used in the meal. "Vodka?!" she looked at Kazuha as she jumped onto her, puckering her lips.

"AHHHH!!!!!" A simultaneous scream by both Heiji and Shinichi, as they jumped out of their chairs and went to pull Kazuha off of Ran. Shinichi took Kazuha by the arms and commenced pulling her up, while Heiji tried to back Ran off and form a barrier between the two.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Kazuha?!" shouted Heiji, looking into her drunken face.

She felt someone hold her back, "Mm?" She turned around, squinting her eyes, "Ah, Kudou saving your girlfriend from me.." She was slurring her words with a smile on her face. She looked over at Ran, who had an expression that was blank. "Geh," Kazuha said.

Ran poked her nose, "You're drunk."

Kazuha freed herself out of Shinichi's grasp. "I am SOOOOO not," Kazuha said, putting an arm around Ran. "Me You need to talk," she said, giggling. Ran looked at Kazuha, then at the boys.

"I'm going to take her to bed," she said, with a fake laugh.

The boys blinked and simultaneously they shouted again, "I hope you mean, to sleep!" They looked at each other, then back at the girls.

Ran shot a look at them. "Of course I mean sleep!" she whispered loudly.

Kazuha poked Ran's cheek. "I'm not, NOT, not drunk." Ran laughed as she opened the door. Kazuha smiled, "Ah, bed." she walked over to the bed, almost looking like she was a ballerina.

Ran rose a brow, "Uh, Kazuha?" Kazuha's face was already buried in the pillow, sound asleep. Ran sighed, "Nevermind." She closed the door and walked back into the livingroom, the lights went out. Standing in the dark hallway she looked around for a switch, or at least, _something_ that could show her where she was going. As she was walking, she tripped and landed on her knees, "OwWw.." She looked around, moving her hands against the ground, then sliding them up against the wall next to her, leading her to the living room.

Suddenly, Shinichi felt a hand on his face. "Hey, what the-?" The lights suddenly flicked on for a moment. Shinichi had been feeling the wall for guidance too. "Ran?!"

Heiji was in the living room already, with the lighter and candles in hand, lighting them just as he did earlier.

Ran took her hand back, "Sorry!" She looked around, "A black out, again?" She sighed deeply, rubbing her head. She gave up, then just sat down.

Kazuha, in the next room, was actually awake. She had opened the window quietly, "_This is perfect! I wouldn't expect a black out! Now I can really go to the Professor's house for sure!_ " She had jumped outside of the window and ran quietly to Agasa's house.

Shinichi heard Ran slide down the wall and to the floor. He still couldn't see, as the light from the candles Heiji was lighting didn't quite reach the hallway. He held his hand out to see if he could feel where she was again and make sure she didn't fall. He slowly knelt down, until he felt a lock of soft hair under his hand. "Ran, are you okay?" He knelt completely, keeping his hand on the side of her face.

Ran blushed, "Yeah, I'm fine." She turned, hearing Heiji from behind her, "Heiji, you should check on Kazuha."

Over at Agasa's, Kazuha rang the doorbell, before someone had opened the door she had thought to herself. "_I'm going to find Kogoro... With that Botan guy, tonight._" Opening the door, the young man had looked down at Kazuha, "You!" She pulled him outside by the shirt and quietly closed the front door behind him, "You're going to tell me where Kogoro is, all right Mr. Botan? Tonight."

He quickly nodded, " I, uh, the last place was..."

Heiji finished lighting the last candle, then raised an eyebrow at her, muttering, "What am I, your servant?" as he walked down the hallway.

Shinichi watched as the image of Heiji disappeared as it came closer, then listened to the steps of his shoes as he continued behind him. He closed his eyes, "That's good to know, Ran." He didn't even notice himself slowly leaning closer to her.

Ran, was still looking down the hallway, not noticing that Shinichi was leaning closer. She had watched Heiji walk into the room. She looked back at Shinichi.

Meanwhile, Kazuha was sitting at a nearby park bench next to Nagi Botan. "He is alive?" she nearly almost choked him for lying to Ran, she simply just pinched herself in the hand.

Nagi got up, "I'll show you where Mr. Mouri is being held at." He looked down at Kazuha, "Only if I get to see Ms. Mouri later." He grinned.

Kazuha rose a brow. "You really like Ms. Mouri, don't you?" she said, getting up. He nodded frantically. She sighed, taking a couple of steps, she looked forward. "Show me where he is, then she'll decide that." Nagi nodded as he caught a taxi with Kazuha.

The candles were getting brighter, and now Shinichi could see the outline of Ran's hair. He moved even closer.

"Ummm, Ran?" interrupted Heiji, simply opening the door to the room, "Do you normally leave your window wide open in the middle of winter?" He blinked.

Ran, suddenly paid attention to Heiji. "No, no I don't." She gave fake smile, "Why would I?" She tilted her head, then took a glance at Shinichi and poked his nose. "Listen, if you're that scared then you can just ask to move closer to me," she said, giggling softly.

Shinichi blushed, "I'm not scared! I just..."

"Oi! Kazuha's not here!" Heiji shouted from the bedroom. Shinichi turned around in the darkness in the direction of the yell.

Quickly getting up, Ran ran to the room. Looking inside, "_empty_."

"We need to find her!" She quickly got on her coat and ran outside, leaving the boys in the office.

--------------End Chapter 11--------------


	12. Nagi's Hidden Colors

--------------Chapter 12: Nagi's Hidden Colors--------------

Kazuha looked at Nagi in the corner of her eyes. "_Something's not right about this guy_," she thought to herself. She was wearing a baseball cap that covered her eyes, while Nagi was giving directions to where they were heading.

Shinichi jumped off the ground as Heiji grabbed a flashlight. They threw on their coats, following Ran out the door.

"Hey Ran!" shouted Shinichi, "Where are you going?!"

"I think she's on the right track," said Heiji, running alongside him. He pointed to a set of fresh footprints alongside them, not made by Ran. "These same shoe prints were found outside the window."

Shinichi made a serious smile and nodded. "Is there anywhere down here she would go?" he called back to Ran.

"No, _unless_.." thinking that, something triggered in her mind. "Meet me at Agasa's house." Ran quickly cut through an alley way, "_Kazuha, why did you have to go alone?_" She kept going as she ran back to the building from where she had wounded herself a couple of nights back.

Nagi glanced at Kazuha. He then looked away, seeing that she was looking at him. He cleared his throat. "I-uh, never wanted to hurt anyone."

Kazuha looked away. "Let's just get there fast," she muttered.

Shinichi and Heiji stopped, having approached the alley that Ran went down. They turned to each other.

"Should she really be going by herself?" Shinichi wondered out loud.

"I don't know... But it IS possible that Kazuha went to Agasa's house..." Heiji replied.

"Yeah... Well. We should go there anyway. If anything happens, I'm sure the Professor can help us."

Heiji closed his eyes and made a small laugh. "Oh, and to think, if you were Conan she would let you follow her anyway."

Shinichi's eyes flashed open. "Ah, you're right! Conan's supposed to be at Agasa's house! If she goes there without us..."

They exchanged a look, before taking off towards the Professor's house.

Ran stopped, looking up at the house she saw that all of the lights were off. She rubbed the back of her head. "But why would Kazuha come here?" she said, looking around. She walked up the steps, "Hm?" She noticed the front door was slightly open. "Uh, hello?" she quietly said, opening the door slowly.

Meanwhile, Kazuha had gotten out of the taxi with Nagi. He pointed up the building that was in front of them. "That is where he was last, Ms. Toyama." Kazuha didn't even reply, she walked into the abandoned building by climbing into a open window.

The boys approached the Professor's house. They knocked on the door, and over came Ai. She looked up to the boys and made a little smile. "How much time has it been so far?"

Shinichi glanced at Heiji. Heiji looked to his watch. "About 34 hours."

Ai raised an eyebrow, "Wow. So I've surpassed myself... All right, come in." She stepped aside and the boys walked in.

"What brings you here?" she asked, walking across the room and sitting in a chair. "No wait," she glanced at them slyly, "Did you tell them that Conan-kun was here? And now you need to make up some excuse to get out of it?"

"No no, not yet. Ha ha ha..." Shinichi nervously laughed, sitting on the couch.

"But that might be what we'll have to do," continued Heiji, looking behind him out the window. "Ran and Kazuha ran off. We don't know where to."

"Wow, and you left them alone? How uncharacteristic of you..." said Ai quietly, picking up a cup of tea and taking a sip.

Walking into the building, Ran took out her cellphone for light. She heard nothing but herself breathing. "Hello?" she quietly said.

Kazuha was already on the fifth floor of the building, "Do you know which floor, Nagi?" After a moment, no answer. "Hey, I said-" she looked behind her, he wasn't there.

Ran was already making her way up the stairs to the third floor.

The boys looked at each other again, exchanging a worried glance. Shinichi got up and went down the stairs, leaving Heiji awkwardly alone with Ai.

Heiji sat down and looked to her, unsure of what to say. "So... umm... what kind of tea is that?..."

"What's it matter? I have none left anyway," she said, setting the empty cup down and reaching for a newspaper.

Heiji rested his head in his hand and stared back outside.

Downstairs, Shinichi passed by the Professor. "Ah, Shinichi-kun, is there something you need?" he asked, noticing his look.

"Where are my extra tracking glasses? This may not work, but it's possible..." Shinichi replied, searching around.

Walking upstairs, Ran heard a soft laughter coming from behind her. She turned around, suddenly being punched in the stomach. Her eyes widened as she fell onto her knees, being carried by a figure up the stairs.

"Damn it, Nagi!" Kazuha whispered loudly. Without looking, she just continued heading up, she then heard coughing. "Ah, Mouri Kogoro?" she said, turning the corner.

"They're right over here, Shinichi," said Agasa, reaching into a drawer and pulling them out.

"Oh thanks, Professor!" He put them on and pressed a button. "Ah, so I was right..." He rushed back upstairs and across the living room. He ran by Heiji, calling out, "Come on! Follow me!" Heiji gladly stood up and left.

They darted down street after street, until they finally arrived at a large abandoned building. Shinichi leaned onto a wall, catching his breath. "She's in there," he managed to wheeze out.

"Who? Kazuha?" asked Heiji, looking up at the building.

"Unless she's wearing Ran's clothes, I don't know." Shinichi pushed himself back into a standing position, wiping the sweat off his brow. "But just to be safe, let's go find out."

A determined look entered Heiji's face as he nodded, starting off towards the door.

Kazuha squinted her eyes, managing to see a dark figure sitting down in a corner. "Mouri-sensei?" She walked slowly towards the man and knelt down.

He grabbed her shoulders and squeezed tightly. "Get out of here," he said.

Kazuha jumped smiling. "It's you!" she whispered.

He tightened his grasp, "Get, out."

She heard the chains that clinged together as he moved around. "O-out?"

Quickly but carefully, Heiji and Shinichi entered the building. Heiji turned on his flashlight, looking around the shattered wreck of a place that it was. Shinichi turned on his glasses' nightvision, peering around, trying to find where the elevators, stairs, and emergency exits were.

"It doesn't look like there's anyone here, Kudou..." started Heiji.

"Nah, there's still someone here... And more than one." Shinichi was kneeling on the floor, observing some light puddles by the entrance. "Unless Ran came in and out often, there's no way the snow melting off her shoes could have created this much water." He peered to the elevator. "Come on, let's try the second floor."

Heiji agreed, as the two walked up to the elevator and entered it.

For Kazuha, it was too dark to see. She merely fooled around with the chains that were connected to Kogoro's wrists. "You're getting out of here, sensei," she said with a smile.

"Kazuha!" Nagi said, trying to catch his breath, "Ran's here!"

Kazuha quickly got up, bringing attention to Kogoro. She smiled. "She is? Where is she?"

Nagi walked towards Kazuha. She looked around and behind him. Nagi smirked, shoving her up against the wall nearest to him. "Yeah, she is."

Kazuha struggled, trying to get away. "Y-You.." Nagi slid his hands up her neck, almost strangling her.

As Shinichi went to hit the button for the second floor, a sudden pain crossed his chest. "_Oh no! Not now!_" he thought. He tripped, his hand accidentally hitting the button for the fifth floor instead.

"Are you all right? KUDOU!" Heiji shouted, bending down to pick Shinichi up.

As the elevator started rising, Shinichi found himself feeling better again. He looked down to his body, touching his hands to his chest. "Huh? Was it a fluke?"

Heiji shrugged, "I guess so." He looked up to the light on top of the elevator, already passing the third floor. "Uhh, Kudou? What button did you press?"

Shinichi looked up, "Eh? I don't even know, actually."

Pushing Nagi back, Kazuha shoved her feet into his lower stomach, causing him to fall. She, herself, fell to her knees, holding her neck and trying to catch her breath. "Where is Ran?..." she demanded.

Nagi got up, wiping the dirt off of the corner of his mouth, "Hm, why should I tell you?" He began to walk towards her, "Soon as you and Kogoro are gone, I will have Ran all to myself." He snickered.

The elevator dinged, and the door opened wide. This semi-dark floor had only meager lighting, coming from the open windows. Heiji and Shinichi went to step out, but upon hearing voices, immediately pushed themselves against the wall. Shinichi silently peered around the room, not finding Ran anywhere yet.

Nagi pulled Kazuha by the hair, picking her up. "This will go by quickly."

Kazuha closed her eyes in pain from the grasp he had on her. She looked up at him, then slid her leg underneath him to make him fall. Still having his hand caught up in her pony tail, he pulled her with him. "Why you!-" Kazuha quickly got up, she froze. Feeling the dagger go into her leg, she screamed in pain. Nagi continued digging it into her leg.

Kogoro yelled, "Stop it!"

Kazuha pushed Nagi away, leaving the dagger in her leg. She fell to the floor, holding it, breathing heavily. "Just tell me.." she looked up at him, "Just tell me where she is!"

Suddenly, realizing it was Kazuha's scream, Heiji darted off. He dived onto Nagi, pushing him to the ground hard. "YOU TRICKED US! YOU TRICKED US ALL!" He held him down, turning over to Kazuha, hearing little whimpers. "Kazuha! Are you okay?!"

Shinichi, however, ran into the stairwell. He saw her on the tracking glasses. He knew it. She was so close...

Kazuha had her head to the ground, holding her leg. Looking up at Heiji, she got up by her knees, "Heiji, get out of here." She fell on her face, back to the ground. Her leg was bleeding seriously. She winced in pain as she looked at it.

Ran, on the other hand was already waking up. She looked around. She slowly got up, rubbing her head. She took a step forward and fell. Her vision was blurry. "Wha..?" she rubbed her eyes. She extended her arms out, reaching for walls that were around her. She was in a enclosed spot. "_I must be in the elevator..._" she thought, sliding her back against the door and holding the sides of her head. "_My head, it hurts_."

"Don't worry, Kazuha, I've got him down." Heiji pushed Nagi's arms down, not letting him lift them at all. "Can you walk? Get out of here if you can at all! Take the elevator, it's right behind that wall by Ku-" Heiji looked over, but his flashlight was on the ground, shining at nothing in particular. "Kudou? Are you there?.." He waited for a moment but heard silence. "Well, there's still an elevator over there..." He stared into the corner with an angry look. "_Damnit, Kudou, where did you go?!_"

As Shinichi reached the next floor, he glanced around. "_But she's right here! How do I not see her?!_" He turned around and looked to another elevator, next to the stairwell. He blinked, then ran towards it. He pressed the button to try and open it.

--------------End Chapter 12--------------


	13. Getting Out Alive

--------------Chapter 13: Getting Out Alive--------------

Nagi began to laugh, "There is no way you can get out of here, Toyama."

Kazuha looked at Nagi as she held her leg, she turned towards Kogoro. "We'll get you out."

Shoving his elbow into Heiji's chin, Nagi quickly rolled away and ran off. Kazuha got up.

Kazuha looked at Heiji, "Find Kudou, I'll take care of Kogoro."

Heiji jumped up, grabbed his flashlight, and chased Nagi across the room. He made it to another hallway, when suddenly, Nagi disappeared. Heiji looked around, but the flashlight was too dim to see anything. "Damn it!" he yelled. "We'll get you! Don't you worry about that!" He turned around angrily and dashed back towards the first elevator, searching for Shinichi now.

Ran heard footsteps. She turned, looking at the door. "Hello?" she whispered. She got up slowly as she carefully opened the door. She looked down at his feet, then slowly raised her eyes to meet his face.

"Ran?" said Shinichi, seeing her through the night-vision glasses. He knelt down to her level, "What are you doing in here?! Did something happen to you?!" He looked her over, breathing a sigh of relief as he saw only minor cuts and scrapes, no major wounds.

Ran looked up, "Shinichi?" She extended her hands towards him, trying to reach out to him. "I-It's too dark to see anything," she whispered.

Kazuha held her leg, she got up slowly. "He's going after Ran.." she said to Kogoro. She began to feel weak, falling to her knees, her vision became blurry.

Nagi stood quietly behind the corner of the room, "_He's found her_." He tightened his fists into a ball, "_Damn it_."

Shinichi took her hand and helped her up, "It's okay. I can guide us out of here." He turned back to the room, but then remembered that they were in an elevator. "Okay, hold on." He looked at the panel of buttons and pressed the one for the ground floor.

Heiji was in the elevator beside them, going up to their floor. He watched the numbers change, trying to keep his cool.

"A-All right," Ran said quietly. She looked over his shoulder listening, and seeing a tall figure in the dark. Her eyes widened, soon as Shinichi had closed the elevator door, she was pulled out by the hand.

Nagi grinned. "Bye bye, detective," he said, as the elevator door closed. He put his hand on Ran's mouth, and her left arm behind her back. "Shh, Shh, everything will be all right." Ran struggled, trying to get away from behind.

Shinichi spun on the spot, staring out the door as Nagi took Ran away. "RAN!" he shouted, banging on the door as soon as it closed. He looked over the panel of buttons for an emergency stop, but for some reason it wasn't working. "Crap!" He banged on the door again, looking up above him as if he could see her through the broken ceiling.

Heiji's elevator dinged, its door opening. Heiji gasped, seeing Nagi holding onto Ran. "YOU!" he shouted, picking up a nearby 2x4 and lunging at him. He raised the chunk of wood above him, before firmly smacking it against the side of Nagi's head.

Nagi fell onto the floor, still holding Ran. They slid against the floor and next to a door. Ran looked up at Heiji. She struggled, trying to get out of Nagi's grasp. Nagi got up slowly, "Damn you." He pulled Ran closer, "Do that again, and see what happens." Still trying to get away, he knelt her on her lower back. Ran fell unconscious.

"Grr.." Heiji seethed, staring at the man with poison eyes. He glanced up to the door behind them, barely able to see it. Thinking fast, he jumped over them and towards the door, diving and shoving the block of wood beneath it, jamming it shut. He breathed heavily and turned around. "Well now we'll see how it goes. Now the stairs and those elevators there are the only ways out." He pointed towards them, light shining through the dirty window merely illuminating the tip of his finger.

On the ground floor, the door opened. Shinichi looked around and saw that nothing had changed. He ran back into the elevator, staring at the buttons. "_Gah, which floor did we land on?!_" He looked over them carefully, before pressing the number five...

... Nothing happened.

"_What's going on?!_" he asked himself, pressing more buttons. "_Shit! The elevator lost its power!_" He ran out and pressed the button for another one to come down. But once again, nothing happened. Impatient, Shinichi dashed over to the stairwell- his only hope.

Nagi pulled Ran closer and closer to his body. He looked at Heiji as she fell against the wall behind him. He slid against it to the other side of the room, "Is that so?" He looked up at the stairs. "What should we do Ran?" he said, whispering in her ear.

Shinichi soared up the steps as fast as he could. He turned up the floor by Kazuha and took a quick stop. "Kazuha?... Mouri-san?!" he asked, suddenly looking dumbstruck. He shook his head, "Ah, you've got to get out of here! Take the stairs- the elevators aren't working." He glanced down, noticing that Kazuha's eyes were closed. "Kazuha?!"

She slowly opened her eyes, "Kudou, get Kogoro out of here." She carefully got up.

Suddenly, Shinichi heard steps coming up behind him in the stairwell from below. He turned, staring at the approaching shadow.

Heiji stood there, unsure of what to do next. "You know you won't get away, right?" He stared at Nagi angrily. Hostage situations were always tricky, but so rarely had they hit so close to home.

"I beg to differ, Hattori-san." He slid his hand against Ran's leg, "Remember, you should be worrying about that girl who is bleeding to death." He began to laugh, "Unless you're more worried about me."

Heiji shook his head, "No. Although that wound was pretty bad, it's not likely to be deadly. Besides, this girl here is unconscious. I can't just abandon her and run off with Kazuha."

Shinichi stepped up to the shadow, recognizing it.

"You forgot something..." whispered a quiet voice.

Shinichi made a serious smile. "Thanks. Does he know we're h-?"

The quiet voice made a quick laugh, "Yeah, don't worry. We'll get Mouri-san and the girl. I think you have more business to attend to elsewhere."

Kazuha wasn't able to see who was talking to Shinchi, she just quietly laid there and listened to them.

Shinichi then nodded, dashing off up the stairs.

Nagi gritted his teeth. He looked at Ran. "You're interfering!" He pointed at Heiji. "Ran wants to be with me! You don't understand!" He ran his fingers through her hair, "Right?" Ran's body wobbled around almost looking lifeless as Nagi moved.

"No she doesn't!" yelled Shinichi, suddenly appearing directly behind Nagi. "And don't touch her!" His eyes flashed as he approached the man. Heiji came closer as well, the two surrounding Nagi on both sides. "Give it up..." Shinichi stared at him, his footsteps resounding about the room, "She'll never be yours, especially after you put her through a situation such as this."

Suddenly, a tiny arrow shot from the stairs, hitting Nagi in the neck. Shinichi put his arm down, closing the target on his watch.

Downstairs, the girl stepped out of the shadows, a similar pair of glasses on her own face. Ai stepped over to Kogoro and untied him. "Follow me," she said to the two, turning around to the stairwell.

Nagi fell to the floor passed out, with Ran still as well. After being untied, Kogoro picked up Kazuha and followed Ai. "How did you find us?" he said as he followed her.

Ai closed her eyes with a sly smile, her hands behind her back. "I have my ways..." Nearby she could still see the blip of Ran on the tracking glasses. She continued downstairs, Professor Agasa waiting with his car door open, out on the road.

Kogoro went on outside, alongside her. "Right.." he said, trying to believe a seven year old.

Heiji reached down and pulled Nagi off of Ran.

"Ran!" called Shinichi, kneeling down to her.

"Come on. There's no time for worrying, let's get out of here," said Heiji, picking up Nagi and hauling him over his back.

Shinichi kept his gaze to her, "I know. Let's go." He picked her up carefully, pulling her over his own back, letting her arms dangle over his shoulders. As they started to travel down the stairs, Shinichi took a hold of Ran's hands, feeling that they were cold, as well as to keep her steady.

Kazuha was slightly awake. She looked up at the street light,

"We're outside?" She rolled her head back to where Agasa's car was.

The Professor came over, noticing that Kazuha could barely hold herself steady, as well as the large amount of blood pouring from her leg. He took a hold of her arms and calmly directed her to the backseat.

"Should we wait here for Kudou?" asked Ai, looking to him.

"Yes, the police should be on their way, as well as an ambulance for this poor girl," The professor glanced back at Kazuha.

The boys approached the doorway, seeing the bright yellow Beetle out front.

"Ah, Agasa comes to save the day again?" pondered Heiji, out loud. Shinichi let out a single laugh, kicking the building's door open and walking outside.

Ran raised her head, her eyes slowly opened. "Mmm." She looked around, feeling snow gently hit her back. "We won?" she said with a fake smile. She glanced over at Heiji who was carrying Nagi.

Police sirens approached, followed by an ambulance. Shinichi heard Ran speak faintly. "I suppose you could say that," he responded, looking over his shoulder at her.

Kogoro looked down at Kazuha, "Thank you." He then shut the door as she laid in the backseat, asleep.

As the first police car pulled up, an officer stepped out and over to Heiji. Shinichi glanced over.

Before Heiji could turn Nagi over, Shinichi stepped in, "No, it's okay, Keiji-san. We've got everything under control. The only thing is that this girl over in the car needs to go to the hospital."

Heiji blinked, staring at him. He hissed into his ear, behind Ran's head, "What are you saying?! He's obsessed with Ran! He'll steal her away at the first chance he gets!"

Shinichi looked to the unconscious man behind Heiji. "No, I think we can find a way to keep him in check." He glanced over to Ai, who was simply standing there, watching the ambulance pull up.

"Were you hurt?" Ran's ears rang once she heard that voice. Her eyes widened as her father, Mouri Kogoro, was walking towards them.

"D-Dad?" she blinked continuously, trying to believe that it was really him. Tears glided down her cheeks. She gave a smile. "No," she replied.

Kogoro smiled then nodded. "That's good." There was a pause of silence between the two.

She quickly jumped off of Shinichi and onto Kogoro, "Please don't leave again!"

She held him tightly, Kogoro hugged back. "I'm sorry," was all he could say at that time.

Shinichi looked behind him to the touching scene. "M-Mouri-san...-" he started, but Heiji put his hand into his shoulder.

"Don't interrupt them."

Shinichi turned back to Heiji and smiled. "Here, let's bring him back to the Professor's place." He nodded towards Nagi.

"But what about Kazuha?" asked Heiji. Shinichi turned over to the ambulance, seeing a couple of men leave with a stretcher towards the Professor's car.

"I think she'll be fine." He looked back to Heiji, before walking over to the car.

_Snoooort._ Ran pulled onto his nose, "It's really you, right?"

A sweat drop slid against Kogoro's cheek. "Yes Ran, it's me," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling it down. Kogoro looked down at Ran, "I have to talk to the inspector." She nodded. Looking back over to where they were pulling Kazuha up onto the stretcher, she ran over to her. Kazuha rolled her eyes to meet with hers and smiled.

"You really put yourself in danger, y'know Kazuha?"

Kazuha simply laughed softly, looking up at the sky. "Yeah, but it was worth it. You'll be your usual happy self now."

Ran poked her cheek, normally what Kazuha does. "Yeah, thank you," she said, smiling. Kazuha was then pulled into the ambulance.

--------------End Chapter 13--------------


	14. Back Home

--------------Chapter 14: Back Home--------------

After a couple trips back and forth, everyone finally arrived at the Professor's house. Heiji and Shinichi laid Nagi down in a new room that the Professor had already cleaned out for him. "Should we really trust him here?" Heiji inquired, closing the door behind him and looking at Shinichi. 

"Yeah. Don't worry. I know what I'm doing," he winked.

"Uh huh, just like you knew what you were doing at that theme park." said Heiji, in all seriousness. They continued to the living room, meeting with the Professor, Ai, Ran, and Kogoro. The professor was talking to Kogoro, telling him how great it was that he was back.

"Hey, Professor," Shinichi nudged him. Agasa turned around. "He was being detained by the Black Organization... Don't you think it's time we discussed it?"

Agasa looked back to Ran and Kogoro, surprised by this new information.

Kogoro had his hands in his pockets, "Hey." He looked at Shinichi, "You saved Ran, thanks." He looked away, sweating. 

Ran giggled, nudging him in the arm, "He means.." She deepened her voice and pointed a finger out. "_Thank you very, very much for saving my daughter, Ran, from that horrible man. I don't know what could've happened if you were not there, Kudou._" She looked at Kogoro, sticking her tongue out. "Hmm?" 

Kogoro rose a brow. "Yeah, right," he muttered.

"Ahhh, no problem," replied Shinichi, his arm behind his head. "But umm.. Can I ask you something?" He took his arm down and looked to him inquisitively. 

Kogoro straightened his back, "Yeah, what is it?" 

Ran tilted her head, "Oh, I get it." 

Kogoro looked at Ran, "Get what?" Ran clapped her hands together, "I should go since that this is going to turn out to be a man-to-man talk." She turned around, "Doesn't matter, I'll be outside anyways." 

Kogoro made a fake laugh, "She is too much." He looked back at Shinichi, "So what is it?"

The Professor and Ai looked to each other, then followed Ran out of the room. Ai stayed close by the door, though, listening in.

Heiji went and sat on a couch. Shinichi sat over in a different one, looking into Kogoro's face in all seriousness. "So.. What happened? The last we knew, you went out for Mah Jong before disappearing..."

Heiji quickly jumped in, "That is, the last RAN knew was that. It's what she told US... heh heh..." He gave Shinichi a look, as he suddenly remembered that he was not Conan at the moment. 

"Umm yeah. That," Shinichi looked down.

"I actually don't remember how I ended up there in that building," Kogoro said, sitting down. He cupped his chin together with him thumb and three of his fingers. "Although, there was that young man who you were carrying..." he said, looking up at the ceiling. "Now I remember! He was the guy who- uhh... n-never mind." He quickly looked at the floor/

The boys perked up. "What do you mean? Go on!" asked Shinichi. 

"The thing is, I don't completely remember," he said scratching his head.

"What was he doing?" Heiji jumped in. "Did he kidnap you or mislead you somewhere or something?"

"That's the part I'm stuck at." He got up, "It's possible.. But I just don't remember at all." He took a glance at Shinichi, "Listen, may we continue this later tomorrow, I'm tired. And I'm sure Ran is as well." He walked outside.

"Ummm, sure," blinked Shinichi. "Oh, by the way..." They both got up, following him. "We've been staying at your house recently, though without your permission... Umm.. Can we stay there tonight again?" The boys looked to Kogoro nervously. 

Kogoro stopped. "I guess," he mumbled. He continued walking, "Ms. Toyama will be out of the hospital in the morning, it'd be best if you guys check up on her." He looked down at Ran. "We're going to be late," he said in disappointment. 

Ran got up, "Late? Late for what, Dad?" 

He rubbed his forehead. "For, for, YOKO!" he yelled cheerfully as he skipped down the sidewalk. 

Ran sighed, "After being almost killed, he's worrying about THAT?" She giggled softly. "At least he didn't _permanently_ leave," she said, giving a fake smile to Shinichi.

Shinichi gave Ran a smile back. Heiji walked behind them, watching the cars drive by in the street.

As they stepped up to the house, Heiji continued inside, going to take a shower. Shinichi, however, stopped.

Kogoro quickly ran to his chair, twirled around in it, then turned on the T.V. Ran rubbed the back of her head as she watched him, "Geez..." She looked back at Shinichi. "Eh, what's wrong?" she said, almost about to walk into her room.

Shinichi kept a soft smile and followed her. "Let's talk about it in here," he said, passing her and entering her room first.

"Uh, okay." She took a glance at her Dad, then entered the room. She closed the door as she leaned up against it with her hands behind her back. "So, what is it?" she asked, raising a brow.

His voice suddenly changed. "You're okay, right? Nagi didn't hurt you, did he?" He watched her eyes carefully.

She smiled, "Is that what you're worried about, Shinichi?" She shook her head, "Nah, he didn't hurt me. I was just so shocked by what was going on, I...fainted!"

Shinichi sighed, wanting to believe that. "Then..." he looked away, blushing.

"Hm?" She looked at him. "Then, what?" She smiled. "Since we found my Dad, I'm safe, and Kazuha's safe in the hospital, then you can leave if you'd like," She said, smiling. "You said that you wanted to help me, and... you did!"

Shinichi looked up and blinked. "No! No, it's not that. It's just... " He turned away again. "Have you thought about what I asked.. last night?..."

Ran poked the side of her face, "Last night?" She pointed at him with her back still against the door with a smile on her face. "You mean if I'd cook for you tonight?" She walked towards him and sat on the bed, "Aw, come on Shinichi, I'm only joking. But what _did_ you ask the other night?"

His face burned, unsure if he should even bother continuing. He sighed and sat down next to her, putting his face in his hand. "Hmm..." A smile broke out, beneath his hand. "You really are clueless, aren't you?" 

"Huh? I am?" She fell back on the bed with her arms spread out. "Then spit out with it, Mr. Detective." She looked up at the ceiling.

"Actually..." He took his hand away and smiled teasingly at her, "I don't think I'm going to tell you." He moved away from her a bit.

She kicked her legs up high in the air, then got up. She crossed her arms over her chest as she walked towards him, "Oh really?" She then turned around, falling back on the bed.

Shinichi turned and leaned over her face. "Yes really. Why don't you try being a detective for once and try to figure it out, yourself?" He snickered.

She got back up, "Fine I will." She looked around the room, grabbed her baseball cap and put it on, rolling her hair up into a ball and hid it underneath. She turned around, giving the same look Shinichi usually has when he is trying to solve a case. "Well, telling from the other night when we went ice skating, and Kazuha tried kissing me..." she rolled her eyes, then looked back at his. She smiled and giggled. "Oh, I get it."

Shinichi sat up, watching her, "W-What is it you get?..." He could feel the sweat starting to form on his face.

She sat down next to him, "You were trying to be a father figure while my Dad was gone."

"Errr..." Shinichi sat and stared at her, surprised.

"Eh? I was wrong?" She laid back, still with her baseball cap on. "Then what is it, Shinichi?"

"Ahhh, nothing's wrong! In fact, you got it spot on! Ha ha ha..." He laughed nervously, leaning back on the bed, his arms propping him up behind him.

"So that's it.." she said, rolling to her side, her back facing his.

"Y-yeah..." He looked down. "_Ugh, I missed my chance AGAIN..._" He sighed once more. He heard the water turn off in the bathroom. "I guess I'll go take my shower now." He stood up and approached the door.

She quickly got up. "Uh, Shinichi!" she said, extending her hand out to him. She giggled as she quickly put her hand behind her head. "Nevermind, just turn off the lights please." She took off the baseball cap.

Shinichi stopped and looked to her, "No, what was it?" 

"Nothing really!" She walked towards the door. "I uh, just need to get dressed into my pajamas!" she said, holding the door knob.

"Oh, well.. If you're sure that's all." Shinichi smiled. "If you ever need to tell me something, don't hesitate, okay?" He turned around and stepped out, wishing he could follow his own advice when talking to her. 

She unbuttoned her shirt, but stopped, looking at the mirror. "_He wouldn't have wanted to tell me__ that_." She shook her head in disbelief. After putting on her pajamas she walked over to the bed and did a face plant right into her pillow.

--------------End Chapter 14--------------


	15. Good Morning, Conan

--------------Chapter 15: Good Morning, Conan--------------

Heiji walked down the hallway, seeing Kogoro drooling over the television. He shook his head gently, a small smile on his face, as he walked into the bedroom.

Shinichi took a quick shower, returning to Kogoro's room once again. He closed the door behind him, seeing Heiji with an extra blanket on the floor, asleep. "I guess it's bedtime again," he muttered, trying to find some space for himself on the floor as well.

Ran, however, was doing the same thing that Kazuha had been doing the night before. She was sitting beside her window as snow began to fall again. She smiled. "Too bad spring is coming," she quietly told herself. She stretched, resting her head against the wall. She slowly and quietly fell asleep.

Over at Agasa's house, the Professor was firmly asleep. Ai, however, stayed awake and wandering the house. She passed by Nagi's door, opening it slowly to see if he was awake. But Nagi was asleep as well.

She stood in his doorway, keeping an eye on him. "_I knew there would be trouble with you,_" she thought, watching him closely. She stayed for a few minutes, before finally turning around and heading back down the hallway.

Ran suddenly woke up. She slowly opened the door to her room and walked outside. She looked over to where Kogoro was, sleeping. She grabbed the blanket that covered the couch and gently covered him with it. She turned off the T.V. and looked at him for a moment, smiling softly. Then she walked into the kitchen and grabbed a cup of water.

In his sleep, Heiji stretched out, accidentally punching Shinichi in the face. "Ahh!" Shinichi woke, looking down in the dark at him. "_Ugh.. Baka.._" He rubbed his face gently and tried to turn over, only to find that Heiji was taking up all the room. Frustrated, he stood up, taking his blanket and pillow, and carefully stepped out the door. He dropped the pillow and blanket down in the hallway, too tired to go all the way to the living room. He plopped down onto the floor, curled up into a ball, and dozed back off.

Ran walked out into the living room, hearing a noise. She still had her glass of water to her lips. She looked down at Shinichi, curled up into a ball. She rubbed the back of her head, "Eh?" Kneeling down to him, she poked him. "Hey, you.. come on." Without any response, she sighed, grabbing his hands and pulling him over her back embarrassingly. She gently laid him on her bed and covered him with blankets. She breathed heavily. "B-Boy, you sure are heavier than you look," she whispered, before walking back over to her window and looking out.

Shinichi snoozed away, completely unaware of having been moved. He was too deep in a dream, where he and Ran were happily together, freely admitting everything they had kept quiet, but they were so happy to be so close that nobody cared to be angry. He smiled, in the bed, mumbling lightly.

She snoozed off quietly. In the morning, she was laying on the ground. "_I must've fallen off the bed last night._" She rubbed her head as she slowly got up, holding her back like a old woman straightened up. She turned over, seeing Shinichi splayed across the bed on his stomach, his arms and legs each occupying a different corner.

In the other room, Heiji woke up. "_Eh? Where's everyone else?_" he blinked, not even seeing the bed disturbed. He threw on some clothes and shuffled into the hallway.

Ran tossed her hair into a low pony tail. She was hunched over as she walked into living room.

"Morning," Kogoro said, sipping his coffee.

Heiji stopped, looking at her. "Hey Ran, are you okay?.."

"My HEAD is KILLING me," she said, plopping onto the couch and rubbing her head, "We should pick Kazuha up soon." She looked up at Heiji, giving him a greedy look. "You missed her, didn't you?"

Heiji put his hands up in front of him, "Pfft, me? Miss her? You gotta be kidding." He looked away to the kitchen. "Uh, you want something to drink?" he quickly tried to change the subject.

"No, I'm fine," she said, sinking into the couch, burying her face back into it. "I don't really want to get up..." But reluctantly, she got back up and walked into the bathroom.

In Ran's room, Shinichi suddenly awoke to pain. He looked around, seeing Ran's room instead of his own. "_What am I doing here?! AHH!_" His chest throbbed. "_I gotta get out of here!_" He jumped out of the bed and dashed down the hallway, passing right by Heiji.

"Oi, Kudou? What's wrong?" He rose a brow.

Shinichi merely wrapped his arms around in front of him, darting towards the door. "I-I just got my call. I gotta go back!"

Heiji's eyes opened, understanding. "OH, okay! Um, I'll be right with you!" He ran to Kogoro's room and pulled up the little clothes that Shinichi had left there before. He dashed outside, following him.

Shinichi ran about a block away, shifting into a deserted alley where no one was likely to come by. By the time Heiji arrived, all there was only a little boy in very large clothing.

"Thanks..." said Conan, taking the clothes from him and quickly putting it on. Heiji stood at the opening to the street, keeping an eye out for Ran.

After putting her hair up in a NICE pony tail and finishing getting dressed, Ran walked out of the bathroom. "_Wonder if Shinichi is awake..._" She walked towards her bedroom, only seeing an empty bed. She took a step back, "Eh?" She walked around, looking for him, but there was no sight of him. She sat down on the couch, "He must be fooling me." She crossed her arms as she waited.

Conan slipped on his bowtie and the glasses. "_I'm lucky it was so dark in that abandoned building. Ran didn't realize these were the same glasses... _" When he was all ready, he stepped out into the street. Heiji picked up the clothes he was previously wearing, since they DID belong to him, after all. Conan looked up at Heiji.

"Look. It will be suspicious if I walk in right now. How about I loiter around outside for a bit before going in? I'll say I slept over Genta or Mitsuhiko's house or something for a couple nights."

Heiji shook his head, "Do you really think you could last out here that long without a jacket, Kudou? How about I say that Shinichi had to leave, but I remembered you were out so I went to get you or something?"

Conan gave him a look, "Yeah, and THAT's LESS suspicious?" They stepped up to the door and walked in.

Ran was sitting on the couch, she looked over to the door. "Conan?" She walked over to him. "So you've finally decided to come home. I missed you!" she said, patting his head. "Uh, hey, did you see Shinichi walk past you at all?" she got up, looking outside. She glanced at Heiji, "Well?"

"Actually yeah," said Heiji. "He said he got a call and had to go back to work on the case... Oh yeah," He checked his watch and clicked it again. He then looked up at Ran and quickly shoved his hands behind his back. Conan stood behind Heiji, a bit disappointed.

"Oh?" she looked down at the ground. "Well, we should go see how Kazuha is doing in the hospital then.." she said, trying to force out a smile. She quickly walked passed them. "_So, he took my advice. He actually left_," she thought. She gave a long, deep, silent sigh.

"What happened to Kazuha-neechan? Why is she in the hospital?" Conan asked, playing dumb.

Heiji put his hand onto his head and ruffled his hair, "Because she got hurt yesterday... heh..." He looked up at Ran, "Yeah, let's go see her." He and Conan put on their jackets and started out the door.

--------------End Chapter 15--------------


	16. The Sudden Threat

--------------Chapter 16: The Sudden Threat--------------

"She's right in here," the nurse said as they opened up the door to the room. Kazuha was sitting on the bed. She turned and looked at Ran.

"Ran-chan!" Quickly, without thinking, Kazuha jumped from her bed. She wrapped her arms around Ran's neck, bringing her towards her face. "Neh, I missed you!"

Ran tried to keep balance, but then fell to the floor. "K-Kazuha, doesn't your leg hurt?"

She stared at Ran, confused. Glancing down at her leg, she quickly got to her bed. "Uh, forgot about that," she embarrassingly laughed. Looking over Ran's shoulder, she could only see Heiji. "Oi, where's Kudou at?" she asked, raising a brow.

Ran rubbed the back of her head, giving a smile, "Oh, he had to go." She rolled her eyes. Kazuha leaned back, putting her arms behind her head. "Ah, I see..." She looked at Heiji, "Y'know, since I'm injured, you're going to have to take care of me like a big brother." She gave him a cheerful grin and sat up, "Oh, that's right, Ran…come here." She moved her hand back and forth, towards her ear. Ran came. "Did you loose your first kiss while Kudou was here?"

Ran pulled her cheeks. "Now why would you get a idea like that?…" she asked, giving a glare with a fake smile.

Kazuha pulled her cheeks as well, "B-Because."

Ran jumped up. "Oh, that's right! When you were trying to give me a kiss that one night, you were just joking so you can go sneak out and find my Dad!"

Kazuha gave a chuckle, "Heh, I guess." She rolled her eyes with a shrug.

Ran pulled her right cheek, "Riiight?"

Kazuha waved her arms in the air, "Oi, Oi, Oi! Right! Right!"

Heiji stepped up to the bed. "Hey, what's going on here, girls?" he asked, looking closely at the two of them. Conan peered at them oddly, raising an eyebrow, but saying nothing.

Snapping her cheek back, Ran turned, facing Heiji and Conan, "We were just talking about Kazuha's behavior the other night, it was all just a play."

She looked down at Kazuha, who was nervously laughing, "Y-Yeah," Kazuha replied.

"Was it, now?" questioned Heiji, bending over the bed and towards Kazuha. "Then what was the point of that? Does somebody in this room have feelings for Ran?"

"B-But!" started Conan, suddenly remembering that Heiji wasn't talking to him, He looked up to Ran, "Uhh... What happened, Ran-neechan?"

Kazuha pulled Heiji's nose, "Listen here, Ran may be one of my really good friends, but that doesn't mean I have feelings for a teenage girl."

Ran sat down beside the bed, "Like I said, a play." She looked down at Conan. "Oh, uh, it's a long story, Conan," she said, rubbing the back of her head.

Heiji stepped back next to Conan, both of them with identical neutral faces. "Yeah, a play..." they simultaneously muttered.

"So.. You're feeling all right, Kazuha-neechan? Does it hurt at all?" Conan looked up brightly.

Kazuha shot up out of her bed and began to walk around like a military soldier, she stopped, looking at Conan. "Guess not!" she smiled.

"Oh, that's great," smiled Heiji warmly, as she bounded around the room. "Do you think you can come home yet?"

Ran put her hair up in a pony tail again, beginning to unpeel an apple with a knife. She shrugged, handing Kazuha a piece. "Kazuha's doctor said she should be out later today. They just need to re-bandage her wound."

Kazuha grabbed the apple piece happily, shoving it in her mouth. She smiled, grabbing another piece and looking up at Heiji. "It's just what Ran-chan said," she said, with a mouth full of apple.

Conan walked over to the window and looked outside. "Wow! At least you have a nice view. You can see the Professor's house from here!"

Heiji glanced at the window, then walked over. "Hey yeah, you're right." He turned around to Kazuha. "You haven't been spying on anyone while here, have you?" he asked jokingly.

Kazuha jumped out bed. She gulped down her last piece of apple and cleared her throat, then ran over beside Heiji. "A-Actually, if you say spying.." Kazuha pointed down to an old man who sat on a park bench feeding pigeons."That man has been there since 8 o'clock this morning, and...-" she pointed towards an old woman walking around a fountain, "she's been there for a while now. Maybe she's looking for him? I hope I'm not that way when I get older..." She laughed softly. Sitting back down, she grabbed another apple piece and ate it.

Heiji and Conan leaned closer to the window, observing the elderly pair. The woman was wandering around, as if lost, while the man did the same repeated motions over and again.

"Wow, since 8?" repeated Heiji. He looked down at his watch, "It's almost noon now..." The two returned to peering out the window. "Do you think they're okay? They must be freezing."

Conan turned around to Ran. "Hey Ran-neechan? Do you think we should go see if they need any help?"

Kazuha giggled, "Oh, I'm sure they're fine." She looked up at the clock, "They should be stopping, right, about... now." She pointed over to the window. She was right, the old woman was already walking down the sidewalk, and the old man had already left.

Ran handed her another piece of apple, "Wow Kazuha, you were right.." She looked over her, raising a brow. "But you've only been here not even 24 hours, how would've you known they were going to stop right at noon?" Kazuha shrugged, poking Ran's nose,

"Instincts.." she winked.

Heiji raised an eyebrow, stepping over to her. "'Instincts'? Come on, now. You really think we'd fall for a claim like that? You must know those people, or you've seen them before. Let's go, spit it out." He glared at her, leaning in toward her face.

Kazuha shot a look back, getting closer into his face. She shrugged, shoving his face away with her hand, "I saw them last night, too." Kazuha walked into the bathroom. "I'm sure they're fine though.." she yelled out from the other side of the door. She came out in a change of a yellow sundress. She grabbed her bow that was on the bed, wrapping it in her hair in a pony tail."I'm just ready to get out here," she chuckled.

Conan smiled, remembering a news forecast recently that said this day would get warmer. He and Heiji walked over to the door. "So you just need to meet up with your doctor, then we can get out of here, right?" asked Heiji, stepping out the door and into the sterile hallway.

Putting her hands on her hips, Kazuha rose a brow. "Whoa, you want to get out of here that quickly?" She sighed, sitting in the wheel chair, "Yup. That's what I need to do."

Ran threw the core of the, used-to-be apple in the trash bin. She walked up behind Kazuha, putting her hands on the handle bars of the wheelchair, "I'm sure it won't be any problem for the boys to leave us for a bit. They do need a break from the last four days," she said, smiling down at Kazuha. She looked over at Conan, tilting her head. "Right, Conan-kun?"

Conan blinked, "R-Right." He glanced up at Heiji as the girls walked on. "So, we go off on our own then?" he asked.

"I guess so," responded Heiji, starting off toward the door. "Do you think we should go see the Professor and make sure that Nagi fellow is still being good? I really don't see how you can still trust him."

Conan shook his head slowly, "No, it's not a matter of trust. I guess I still have to talk with him, though." He peered ahead, seriously.

Resting her elbow on the arm rest of the wheelchair, she put her cheek in the palm of her hand. "Oi, Ran..."

Ran continued to walk, pushing the wheelchair, "Hm?"

Kazuha looked over her shoulder up at her, "Whatever happened to Shinichi? I mean, I know I already asked you-" before she could finish, she had noticed the expression on Ran's face turned from happiness, to sadness. Although, she couldn't really tell from Ran lowering her head. Kazuha cleared her throat, "Ah, h-how about after this, we go get some frozen yogurt, and head home?"

Ran looked at Kazuha, knowing she was trying to change the subject. She simply smiled, with a nod. Soon after getting the frozen yogurt, she and Kazuha had already arrived at the apartment. Opening the door, "I'm home!" Ran yelled out. Kazuha walked slowly in behind her, noticing Ran's Dad was sleeping at his desk.

Kazuha nudged her in the arm, "Then how about we go somewhere else?" Ran shrugged, "Sure."They both walked out the door and down the sidewalk.

The boys walked up to the Professor's house and rang the door bell. Professor Agasa opened the door. "Ah, it's you again. Come on in."

The boys stepped in. "Hey, Professor?" started Conan. "Can we speak to Nagi?"

Agasa nodded, "Sure, he's right down here." He led them down a hallway and up to a closed door.

Heiji knocked on it. "Hello? Umm.." he glanced at Conan, who urged him on. "Uhh.. Can we talk to you for a bit?" A water kettle suddenly started screeching in the kitchen, causing the Professor to turn around to take care of it.

Slowly opening the door, Nagi looked at them both. He slammed it shut again quickly. "G-Go away!" he yelled out. He pressed against the door, keeping his weight on it, he whispered quietly to them, running his fingers down the door. "Is...M-Ms. Mouri-san with you?" he asked, slowly opening it again.

"No, she's not," sighed Heiji, looking down at Conan again.

"Look," started Conan, "I know what happened yesterday. You were saved from going to jail, so now we need to work out some sort of agreement... And trust me," His eyes narrowed, staring at the door, "You wouldn't like the alternatives."

Nagi's eyes widened. He cleared his throat, opening the door wider, "R-Right, please come in."

Heiji and Conan stepped into the room. "Okay," Conan looked up at him. "You have three choices. 1- You go off causing trouble again, and we report you to the police. 2- You go off causing trouble again, and we leave you alone to be found and probably killed by the Black Org. Or 3- You cooperate with us and hopefully, everyone ends up alive and safe in the end. Take your pick." Heiji widened his eyes at Conan, not expecting a plot of blackmail.

Nagi cleared his throat, "W-Why are you doing this to me?" He slammed the door behind him, "It's simple. I'll follow your choices IF you bring me Mouri-san." He grinned, "I promiss I'll cooperate with you."

"THIS ISN'T A DEAL, NAGI!" Conan shouted, surprisingly angry out of nowhere. "We aren't making some exchange. We can easily just throw you out and let you try and survive on your own. We're the ones being kind enough to give you a chance. It's either you listen to US, or.. Well, one of the other choices I just mentioned. Imprisonment, death, or listening to us. It's up to you." He glared at him, beyond the door, sharply.

Nagi was speechless. For a older man like himself, he was being yelled at and threatened by a little boy. He blinked, sighing. He looked at the ground, "Yes, of course. My apologies, I would have to choose choice 3."

Conan nodded, "That's better." Heiji simply blinked at him. "So here's what's happening," Conan continued, "that girl in this house, Haibara Ai.. Do you know her?"

Nagi nodded."Y-Yeah." He slowly opened the door again.

"She'll be keeping an eye on you for me. She's surprisingly observant, so don't try and pull any fast crap on her, okay? If you do anything at all suspicious, we'll know about it." Conan paused for a moment, calming down. "And what we need from you..." He looked into Nagi's eyes, "is to know... How you got involved with _them_."

Nagi looked away. He understood what Conan was asking him, it was just hard to register it back to him in his own words. "It's hard to say," he muttered. "But your friend Ran is in danger," he hissed, opening the door wider, "Just take my word for it and leave... Please."

Conan and Heiji watched him. "Ran?" Conan repeated. "What's happening with her?"

Nagi cleared his throat, "She doesn't have much longer..-" He looked down at them, "Just get out, please!" He pushed them out, shutting the door behind them.

Heiji and Conan stood in the hallway, looking at each other. "Do you think we should take him seriously?" asked Heiji.

"I don't know.." Conan glared back at the door. "Even when he's fully aware of the consequences, he continues to be so rude... But he seems to truly want to live, so he's probably being serious." He glanced up. "Let's go find Ran and Kazuha anyway. They're probably getting something to eat around now, or they're at home."

"Good idea," nodded Heiji as they left the house, onto the streets. The weather was, indeed, warming up, as the snow on the sidewalks had begun melting into puddles.

--------------End Chapter 16--------------


	17. The Destined Kiss

--------------Chapter 17: The Destined Kiss--------------

Out of the store, Ran walked along holding a small plastic baggie.

"Oi Ran, what's in the bag?" Kazuha asked, sitting on the bench outside the store.

Ran shook her head, walking in front of her. "It's nothing."

Kazuha smirked, following her. "Ya have to tell me. Is it for me?" Ran shook her head.

"Nope, it's for no one." Ran said with a smile.

Kazuha let out a long, "Aww.." As she hunched over her shoulders.

"Hey, Kazuha, can you hold my bag while I go get us some chicken dumplings?"

Taking the bag, she nodded. "Oh, can you get some soy sauce?" Ran nodded as well, walking toward the stand. Holding the bag, Kazuha looked at Ran. She smiled, seeing how cheerful she was being today. Returning to Kazuha, Ran handed her the dumplings, then sat down beside her, taking the bag back.

Heiji and Conan stopped at Ran's house briefly, only to find the wannabe-detective still snoozing in his chair. "_Ugh, he seriously has no life.._" Conan thought to himself. They searched around for perhaps a note saying where the girls had gone. Conan walked into Ran's room, remembering how he woke up there just this morning. As he walked in, he accidentally tripped and fell onto the bed. "Huh?" he looked down at what he tripped on. It was Kazuha's open bag, and some of her stuff had become strewn on the floor. "_Crap!_" He quickly jumped to the floor and started putting everything back. Among the things, he picked up a school photograph of Heiji. He paused for a moment, "_She carried this with her here?..._" Just then, Heiji came around the corner.

"Oi, Kudou. You find a note yet?" He stopped, looking down in the doorway at Conan, in front of Kazuha's open bag. "H-Hey! What are you doing going through Kazuha's stuff!"

"Shh! It was an accident!" hissed Conan, quickly shoving the photograph back inside. But Heiji stopped him, pulling his little wrist out and seeing himself in the picture.

"Huh?..." He raised an eyebrow curiously. "That crazy girl..." He shook his head, hiding a little smile inside, "Come on, we'll have to go look for them ourselves." Conan looked up at him and nodded, as he zipped up the bag and put it aside, the two of them walking out.

Coming up the sidewalk, Kazuha had noticed Ran's hair was still in a pony tail. "Oi, Ran, your hair looks pretty cute. Y'know?" she complimented her, tilting her head.

Ran blushed, putting her hand on the side of her face, "R-Really? I mean, I only put my hair up when I'm in karate, but..." She stopped. "Really?" she squealed with a bright smile.

Kazuha laughed embarrassingly, "Yes, really." Kazuha stepped forward. She ran her fingers through Ran's bangs, putting them to the side, "Even cuter."

Conan looked around down the road, spotting the girls. "There they are! Hey, Ran-neechan and Kazuha-neechan!" He made a big smile and waved to them spastically, in a way that only a child could properly do.

Ran jumped up, hearing Conan's voice. Kazuha did as well. Ran smiled, "Hi Conan-kun."

Kazuha looked up at Heiji, "How did you find us?"

Heiji laughed a little, approaching Kazuha, "I don't know, maybe _instinct_?"

Kazuha shot a look. "Very funny," she mumbled.

Conan glanced up at Ran, "We thought you might be hungry. Since you weren't home, we went in the direction of the market!"

Ran giggled softly, "I'm sorry, but we had already ate. You should go on without us."

Kazuha grabbed Ran's hand, "Right! And Mouri-san still needs to show me what she has in the bag," she said, eye-balling the bag Ran held.

Ran turned away quickly, as her skirt and hair twirled. "I already told you- it's not for you." She smiled, looking over at her. Kazuha puckered her lips.

"Geh. Then can we go to the spring baths tonight?" she grabbed Ran's hands,"Please?"

Ran sighed, rolling her eyes, "Go get your things..."

Kazuha jumped up, "Yay!"

The boys stood there and blinked. "B-But what about us?" Heiji asked, watching the ecstatic Kazuha jump. "Are we to just be left behind?..."

Kazuha stepped forward, getting into Heiji's face. "You can go, but you'll have to use a seperate bath with Conan."

Ran rubbed the back of her head, "I think they already knew that, Kazuha.." she laughed nervously.

"Of course," scoffed Heiji. "Ah, it'll be nice to get a little relaxation, I suppose. You just have to be careful of your leg, Kazuha." He looked down at its bandages, as the group started heading back to the Mouri household.

Soon, after grabbing their shampoos and soaps, they were already at spring baths. When getting in, Ran kept her hair up, as Kazuha let hers down. Ran leaned back against a rock. "Mmm, this feels good." After a long pause of silence, Ran looked at Kazuha, whose eyes were watering, "K-Kazuha?"

Kazuha squeezed her eyes shut. "Heiji was right, the wound on my leg is really stinging," she whispered so he could barely hear.

Ran giggled. Swimming toward her, she gently grabbed Kazuha's hand, putting it on her wound. "Better?"

Kazuha nodded, giving a long sniff. After a while it almost felt like they were both drunk from the heat. Kazuha squinted her eyes, trying to see if Ran was still in front of her, "O-Oi Ran...You still there?" Ran began to giggle, soon hitting the water. She quickly came up, catching her breath. Kazuha giggled, as her red, heated face glowed. She got up, wrapping a towel around herself. "I'll be back..." she said with a slurry smile on her face, walking away and trying to keep her balance.

Ran waved slowly. "B-B-Bye...bye."

Meanwhile, they boys hung out in a nearby steam room. "Those girls.. They sure do love their leisure, don't they?" Heiji commented boredly, as he used a ladle and dropped some water onto the coals in the center of the room, causing a fizz of steam to fly up.

"Well, like you said, it's nice to get a little relaxation sometimes," said Conan, lying down on the bench in his bathing suit and towel. "It HAS been a crazy week, after all. Though.. I still hope the girls will be okay..." He peered at the door, worriedly.

Walking down the hallway, Kazuha slid open the door of the room Heiji and Conan were staying in. "O-Oh, this isn't the bathroom..." she hiccuped, slurring her words. She fell next to Heiji. Sitting up, she looked over at him, smiling, "You're so cute when you have that weird expression on your face.." She giggled, running her fingers up his chest. She came closer to his face.

Conan sat up, unsure of what to do.Heiji leaned back a bit, "K-Kazuha, a-are you okay?... You.. You sound like you're drunk again..." He blinked at her, but stayed where he was.

She giggled some more. Closing her eyes, she puckered her lips to his, almost touching them.

Conan sat stock-still, unsure if he should run off out of the room or not. Heiji looked around nervously as Conan blinked, lost. Finding no way out, and Kazuha looming over him, he suddenly thought, "_Ahh, what the heck_.. _As if she'll even remember this later anyway._" He closed his eyes and pressed forward, meeting her lips to his.

Ran wandered down the walkway, sliding the door to the sauna quickly. "Kaz-!" she stopped, realizing Kazuha and Heiji, were... _kissing!_ She fell to her knees, tilting her head in confusion. "O-Oi.." she quietly mumbled. She then began to laugh loudly and suddenly, rolling on the ground.

Kazuha blinked, opening her eyes as she had just noticed the situation. Still with her lips on Heiji's, she blushed furiously, slowly pulling away before looking at Ran. She got up, looking down at Heiji. She paused for a moment, covering her mouth as she ran out of the steam room. She continued down the hallway, running outside to the baths and jumping in. She decided to stay under water as long as she could. But it was soon too much to bare, so she came back up, catching her breath. She held her face, blushing. "_D-Did that just happen?_" she asked herself. She pulled her knees up to her chest.

Heiji sat there and stared into the wall across from him, dumbfounded. "Kazuha..." he said quietly, entirely unaware of Ran's ferocious laughter.

Conan slowly edged away from him, nearer to Ran and the door. He slipped his feet down onto the floor and quietly snuck his way outside of the steam room. He took a few steps away before he couldn't hold it in any longer. He burst out laughing, just as Ran had. He threw his hand against the wall to hold himself up, certain that he could easily fall as well.

Ran got up, wiping her laughter-tears away. She walked outside and gave out a long sigh. "Eh." she paused, as her body froze, "Kazuha and Heiji kissed," she re-told herself, looking down at Conan. She was still in shock at seeing the image again. "Kazuha and Heiji, Heiji and Kazuha.." she mumbled to herself as she walked back and forth.

Conan calmed down and stopped laughing, instead drawing in long breaths to try and relax. He turned around and noticed Ran pacing back and forth. "Ran-neechan?..."

Ran fell to her knees, she grabbed ahold of Conan's shoulders and began to shake him frantically. "Heiji and Kazuha kissed!"

"Y-Yes.. And?..." Despite having left the sauna, Conan felt himself begin to sweat again. "_I hope she's not worried that Kazuha actually got that first kiss before she did.._" He made a nervous face and tried to stay still through Ran's shakes.

Ran looked up at the ceiling, she felt her drunken moment fade away. Putting her finger on her chin, she looked at Conan. "Do you think they'll kiss again?" she asked, almost giving a little girl's expression in curiosity.

"Well, uhh I guess that's up to them, heh heh," answered Conan, his eyes closed as he scratched his head.

Out of the door came Heiji, still in a daze. He looked around the area as if lost in a cloud. "Kazuha?..." He stepped out some more, seeing Ran and Conan. "Oh, hey Ran and Ku-.. uh.. umm..." For a moment he was quiet, as he tried to remember Conan's name, "Oh yeah! And Conan! Sorry about that there..." He turned around and continued searching.

Conan smacked himself in the face gently, watching Heiji wander around, "_Baro..._"

Ran blinked, confused. She shook Conan again. "Aw, don't tell me that! Give me a yes or a no answer..." She paused, redeeming a grin on her face. She looked back in the corner of her eye, watching Heiji look for Kazuha. "Maybe he'll make his move again?" she snickered, looking back at Conan. "Whaddya say?"

"Uhh.." Conan looked at her, then back at Heiji. He shrugged his shoulders. "Okay," he answered, a mischievous little smile growing on his face.

"_Someone's coming?_" Kazuha asked herself, she breathed in a period's time of air, then quickly went underwater. Unable to hold it any longer, she came back up. Noticing it was Heiji who was looking for her, she quickly and quietly swam behind a rock, waiting until he was left.

Ran smiled at Conan, she pulled the side of his cheek. "Maybe we should go spy on them..." she grinned.

Knowing well that he shouldn't, but deciding it would be good for a laugh anyway, Conan accepted. He started walking quietly down the route that he saw Kazuha take earlier.

Heiji was still wandering around. "Kazuha?..." he asked to the air, stepping between groups of families and sticking his head into other people's saunas. "Kaaazuha?..." He continued floating around the area, certain that she had to be SOMEwhere.

Following Heiji's footsteps quietly, Ran stopped, realizing Heiji had finally entered the bath that Kazuha and herself were staying at. She looked over to the boulder, seeing Kazuha hiding behind it.

_Astuu!_ Kazuha sneezed. She jumped up, covering her mouth, almost letting out a squeak of a gasp. Ran snickered, trying to hold her laughter in. Conan stepped up behind Ran's legs, peering into the scene.

Heiji turned suddenly, "Huh?" He noticed the rock near the side of the bath, with some long, black hair flowing around it. "But... Rocks don't have hair..." He muttered to himself, calmly stepping over to it. He looked at it from the side, "Kazuha!" he shouted. "There you are!" He looked into the water, then jumped in beside her.

Kazuha inched away. She began to blush. Seeing this, Ran quietly rooted Kazuha on. "No! Don't run away, Kazuha!" she whispered to herself. Kazuha got the image in her head again: kissing, kissed, kiss, _MUAH_- a big planter Heiji had given to her. HIM to HER. This was all confusing. She just continued to inch away.

"Kazuha?..." Heiji said softly, as she continued to move away. He looked off in another direction. He sighed quietly, "_Don't tell me she regrets it. Damn!..._" He sat quietly, shy once again.

She stopped, seeing his face. She sat up against the boulder and stared at the water. "L-Listen, I'm sorry that it had to end up like that. I didn't realize what I was doing.. I uh mean, seeing that I was acting all drunk. Uh heh, uh heh heh." She laughed nervously. She looked over at him and smiled softly, "Let's forget about it?" She raised up her hand, to redeem a hand shake.

Heiji stared at her. "_No! If you both agree to this, then nothing can ever happen between you!_" he shouted in his head. He closed his eyes and turned around. "...No."

Nearby, Conan continued watching next to Ran. Ran began to blush, hearing what Heiji had said.

With Kazuha's hand still hanging loosely in the air she looked up at Heiji, "Huh?"

"I said 'No'. I won't forget it. I never will.." He shook for a moment, before stepping up out of the water and tossing a towel over his shoulders. "I don't see how you can just forget it either," he glanced at her, expressionless, then walked off and back to the sauna.

--------------End Chapter 17--------------


	18. Wonder and Ice Cream

--------------Chapter 18: Wonder and Ice Cream--------------

Kazuha lowered her hand into the water. She was speechless. Why was he so straightforward toward her? She had no idea. Instead, she got up, tying the knot on her towel even tighter and followed him. She grabbed him as he entered the sauna. "Y-You're right," she said, clearing her throat and looking away. "I can't forget that.." she quietly said, trying to keep her focus on the ground.

Heiji stopped and turned. He looked at her, all soaked and quiet. "Th-Then..." He tried to keep himself composed, "Y-You don't mind?.."

It took a second or two to register what Heiji was asking her, she continued to look at the ground. She then slowly shook her head, continuing to blush.

Around the corner, Conan and Ran followed. He poked his head around, trying to keep an eye on the two.

Heiji let out a smile that he couldn't hold back. "That's.. That's great." He stood still for a moment, not knowing what should happen next. He watched her, her eyes glued to the ground. "Y-You know I'm up here..." he reached out a hand and picked her chin up, towards him, "...right?" He looked into her eyes softly.

Kazuha cleared her throat. Looking back up, she felt his aqua eyes fill her own. Her eyes began to close, slowly. Still with them slightly open, she continued to blush. Ran smiled softly. She grabbed Conan's hand, turning them both around and walked in the opposite direction. "Let's leave them alone.." she said, looking down at the boy.

Conan blinked at Ran, "_Who's the one who wanted to watch in the first place?_" But he quickly shook it off, allowing a small smile to grow on his face. "_That Hattori_..." He closed his eyes and made a small laugh to himself. He then turned and looked up at Ran.

Entering another room, Ran sat down in a sauna. She closed her eyes and began to relax. "What a night, huh Conan?" she asked, giggling slightly.

"Yeah, definitely," said Conan, realizing that the sun had, indeed, already set. He leaned back against the steam room's wall, his hands behind his head.

"M-Maybe we should go find Ran-chan?" Kazuha asked Heiji, still in a daze with his eyes.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure, haha," answered Heiji, suddenly remembering that they were actually here with other people. "Then, let's umm. Let's go look for them," he started off alongside her.

Kazuha giggled, pulling him back. "Maybe we don't have to go find her so quickly. . ." she said, smiling. She closed the sauna door behind them, getting on her tippy toes, she reached for his cheek, lightly pecking it with her puckered lips. "Mmm. Okay! Now we can go," she announced, giggling.

Heiji smiled, almost disbelieving what she did. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, giving her a good squeeze before letting up. He kept his smile as he looked down to her, stepping out of the room and down the walkway.

Kazuha blushed, putting her knuckles up to her mouth and looking away. She looked up, spotting Ran and Conan. "O-Oi Ran-chan.." she said, trying to get her attention.

Ran sat up. She opened her eyes, looking at Kazuha and Heiji and how couple-like they looked. She blinked. Tilting her head, she got up with a grin. "Shall we head home? Mrs. Hattori...?" Kazuha twitched, pulling Ran's cheeks as she pulled her out of the room and down the hallway, "Ow Ow Ow Ow Ow."

Heiji laughed, watching the two walk away. He didn't care how she reacted at the moment, he was too elated simply by the day's events. Conan watched the girls walk away, before giving Heiji a friendly punch in the arm. "Haha, way to go. You got yourself a good spaz."

Heiji raised an eyebrow, putting his hand onto Conan's head, "Oh yeah that's right! Isn't there a first grader with a crush on you?" He continued to smile.

Conan pushed Heiji's hand off of him, "Touché..."

Continuing to squeeze her cheeks, she dragged her along the hallway. Ran pulled away. "Aah.." she quietly said, looking down at her cheeks. Ran nudged Kazuha in the arm gently. "So how did it go...?" she asked, then quickly hiding behind a wall from having Kazuha pinch her cheeks again.

Kazuha looked away, "I'unno.." She shrugged.

Ran slowly walked up behind her, "You're lucky, Kazuha."

Kazuha looked up, then turned around to her. "Lucky?" she asked, tilting her head.

Ran nodded looking at the ground, "You get to admit your feelings towards someone you really care for."

"Well, in all seriousness, congrats," Conan remarked, hopping of the bench. "It's getting really late now, we should be heading back." Conan stepped out the door and looked at the sky.

"Kudou?" asked Heiji, walking up behind him. Conan turned around.

"Hmm?"

"I think you should be on the lookout. You may have just 'disappeared' this morning, but you know now Ran might try to contact you."

Conan sighed. "Yeah I know... But... I can't tell her anything. Not until I see her in person." He started off, towards the lockers where they kept their stuff.

Stepping out, Kazuha threw her gym bag over her shoulder. "You ready?" she asked Ran, who was still packing up behind her.

"Eh, hold on. My pony tail is bugging me," she pulled out the rubber band, letting her hair fall down against her back. This time her hair was in a curly/wavey stage from the water. Ran grabbed her bag, rushing over to Kazuha, "Ready."

As the boys finished dressing and got their stuff together, they walked out the door to meet with the girls. Conan stared up at Ran, noting her hairstyle. "Your hair is really pretty tonight, Ran-neechan!" he told her.

Ran giggled. "Why, thank you Conan." She put her hand against his back gently, walking with him. "Would you like to have a midnight dessert when we get home?" she asked, looking down at him.

Meanwhile, Heiji stepped up to Kazuha. "No, allow me," he said, taking her bag and insisting on carrying it.

Kazuha was speechless. "You're taking my bag?" she sounded, almost asking herself.

"Sure, Ran-neechan!" answered Conan.

Heiji laughed a little, "Yeah, is it a crime to do something nice?" He smiled at her as they walked.

Kazuha put her hands behind her back, looking away. "I guess not. It's just different for you Heiji," she said, rolling her eyes up to him.

Heiji looked forward again, "Well.. Sometimes change is good."

Kazuha rose a brow, then grew a smile. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

When walking up the steps of the house, Kazuha entered with Ran. Expecting to see Kogoro sleeping, instead they find him glued to the television- Nothing surprising. Ran threw her bag on the couch, then fell on top of it. "HoOoOome," she announced.

Kogoro looked down at her. "Shhh! It's not like I can't see that, Yoko's on!" he whispered loudly.

Ran shot him a look, "Why're you whispering?" He ignored her.

Kazuha took her bag, "I can take it from here." She smiled at Heiji, then walked back to Ran's room and closed the door. She found herself staring out the window once again, but this time it wasn't snowing. Kazuha thought about today, how different things will be from now on. "_Will it be a good thing?"_ she thought. She hoped so. Minutes later she fell asleep in a sitting/cuddling position against the window.

Heiji walked on to Kogoro's room and put his own bag back down. He collapsed into his pile of blankets. "Man, what a day," he said, with a happier tone that he would have normally used for that phrase. He turned over to his side and quickly fell asleep as well.

Back in the living room, Conan put his bag down by the wall. He then approached Ran over on the couch. "So what will we be having for dessert, Ran-neechan?" He normally wouldn't care, but he found himself incredibly hungry. Something sweet would definitely hit the spot.

Ran sat up, "Oh, that's right!" She got up and walked into the kitchen, opening up the freezer. "Hm, how about vanilla ice cream, with chocolate syrup?" she asked brightly.

Conan followed her into the kitchen. He nodded, "Mmhmm!" before taking a seat at the table and waiting.

Scooping up the ice cream for two, she put the balls of ice cream into blue little bowls. She sat down next to him, placing the chocolate syrup beside him, "Here you are!" Eating a spoonful of icecream, she smiled, "Good?"

Conan drizzled the chocolate syrup over his bowl, then took a spoon and tried some. "Yeah! It's really good!" He smiled up at her, kicking his little legs cheerfully. He continued to eat, until he was almost done and feeling tired.

Once her bowl was cleaned off, she had noticed Conan was getting drowsy. "How about bed..?" she asked, grabbing his bowl and piling it up on top of hers.

"All right, Ran-neechan," he said, woozily. "_Weird, I shouldn't be so tired so quickly. I wonder if this could be a side effect of the new drug.._" He wobbled his way to the door, heading off down the hallway to his room.

--------------End Chapter 18--------------


	19. The Sudden Sickness

--------------Chapter 19: The Sudden Sickness--------------

Everybody soon off to bed. It was merely morning with just a blink of a eye. Waking up first was Kazuha, who had stumbled into the living room, watching Kogoro sleep with a string of drool hanging from his mouth. She grew a fake smile. "Geez, I feel bad for Ran," she told herself, stepping into the bathroom and cleaning her face. 

Up next was Ran, walking slowly into the livingroom, and falling onto the couch still half awake. "Ugh.."

"Ran-neechan?" asked the third person awake, as little Conan stepped into the living room with a blanket still around him. "Can you make me some tea? My head feels weird." He looked up at her sweetly.

Ran sat up, feeling his head. "Oh, wow. You're burning up Conan!" she said in a tone of surprise. Stepping into the kitchen, she felt breathing over her shoulder. She turned around, seeing Kazuha with a smile. 

"Food?" was the first word that came from her mouth. Ran sighed, rolling her eyes. 

"Let me make tea for Conan, he isn't feeling well." 

Kazuha looked outside of the kitchen at Conan, "Poor kid.." She looked back at Ran and grinned, poking her head, "Then...?" 

Ran turned around, "Then you're going to have to make yourself something to eat while I take care of him." Ran stated, walking off with a hot fresh cup of mint tea. Setting it down to Conan, she checked his head again, "I'll go get some medicine, but for now you just sit here and finish your tea. Okay?"

"Okay," Conan nodded, accepting the drink and curling himself up on the couch. He watched Ran walk by, then looked up at Kazuha.

Kazuha sat down beside him. "Not feeling well, again?" she asked, watching him sip his tea.

"Nope," he replied, looking down at his cup. "At least the tea is good," he smiled up at her, suddenly being interrupted by a bout of coughs. He had some more of his tea, soothing his throat.

Kazuha smirked. "Right.." She got up, walking away. 

Ran came back around the corner, handing him 2-teaspoons of a purple syrup. "Drink that," she said, before walking away into her room. Kazuha began to get changed into a fresh pair of clothes. When walking out, Ran flew right passed her. Kazuha grabbed her arm. 

"Oi Ran, I need to talk to you.." she asked, almost in a tone of suspicion, while staring at Conan. 

Ran looked at Conan, then at Kazuha. "A-Alright, just wait until I'm done cleaning, and getting changed."

Conan took the spoon and drank the syrup. "Ooh, grape!" he announced happily, thinking in his head, "_Wow, never thought I'd have THIS stuff again._" He cleaned the spoon off and set it aside, taking another sip of his tea before putting it down and lying across the couch. He doubted he would be able to sleep again so soon, but closed his eyes in that vain hope, anyway.

Soon awaking, Kogoro turned the T.V. on full blast. "YoOoOko!" he yelled out, almost in his "hugging the T.V day" stage. 

Ran stepped out of her room, "Oi, DAD!" She ran over, turning off the T.V. "Conan isn't feeling well today, cut him some slack okay? Go do something athletic..." 

Kogoro got up, tightening his tie. He walked out the door, "FINE I WILL." He slammed the door behind him. 

Kazuha stepped next to Ran, "Ya'know he'll be out drinking, right?" 

Ran hung her head. "I know." 

Kazuha smiled, jumping up. "We should go to the market though, I'm hungry." 

Ran looked down at sleeping Conan. "Okay, but at most only 20 minutes, okay?" 

Kazuha clapped her hands together, "Right right." Then they both headed out the door and down the sidewalk.

Conan blinked as the T.V. was fiddled with and the door was slammed. He then realized that he was in the room alone. "Huh?" He sat up. "Ran-neechan?..."

Just then, a newly-awoken Heiji stepped down the hallway, with a wide stretch and yawn. "Morning!" he called happily, heading toward the kitchen. "What'd the girls make for breakfast today?"

"Nothing. They just went out to the market real quick," sighed Conan, sinking back into the couch.

Heiji stopped in his tracks, "Oh." He looked around the room, noting that even Kogoro had left. "Well, that's a little disappointing.. Eh? What's up with the blanket?"

Conan peered at him for a moment, "I'm sick, duh." He curled the blanket around himself more tightly, shivering.

When coming home, Kazuha had a pocky stick hanging from her mouth. She stepped aside, holding the door open with a handful of groceries. Ran walked in toward the kitchen. Kazuha followed in behind, putting the groceries on the counter. She snorted, beginning to laugh and poking Ran's back. "O-Oi Ran, don't we remind you of the little people in Snow White?" 

Ran gave a slight "Heh." Kazuha finished her pocky stick. 

"Aw, y'know that was funny." She helped put the stuff away. Ran stepped in the living room toConan. "How are you feeling?" she asked, putting her hand on his forehead.

"The same," sighed Conan. 

Heiji looked down at him."L-Look, why don't you go sleep in your own room. It would be quieter."

Conan had his eyes closed, but he nodded, trying to stand up on his own, but finding it surprisingly hard to balance.

Ran helped him up. She walked into his room, putting him in his bed and covering him with sheets. Before closing the door, she looked at him smiling. "Hey, get better okay?" she said, closing the door. Conan relaxed in the blankets, still awake, but with his eyes securely closed. 

Kazuha jumped on Ran once she walked outside of the room. "OoOi Ran, I'm hungry..." she whined. 

Ran dragged her into the livingroom, "Then make something.."

Heiji, on the other hand, was still in the living room, watching the girls shuffle around. "Uh, is there anything I can help with?" he asked. "I don't think I'd be much of a cook, but I have nothing better to do, heh.."

Kazuha and Ran froze. "Eh?" they both responded. "Y-You mean you want to cook, Heiji..?" Ran asked, surprised. 

Kazuha shrugged with a smile, "Sure why not?"

"Well, umm.. Even if I can't cook, I can always just... set the places or something," Heiji responded, shyly.

Kazuha ran into the kitchen. "Then I shall cook," she announced, rolling up her sleeves. 

Ran covered the doorway with a curtain, "Best if we don't go back there, right?" she said to Heiji, as she sat on the couch waiting. 

Some minutes later, Kazuha walked out with a plate filled with eggs, fruit, and a side of rice. "It, it wasn't easy..." she said, trying to catch her breath.

Heiji smiled and accepted the plate. "Thank you, Kazuha." He looked straight at her again.

Over in the other room, Conan finally fell asleep.

After cleaning her plate, Ran poked her head into Conan's room. Kazuha grabbed her hand, pulling her away. "He's fine Ran.." she insisted. 

Ran scratched the back of her head. "I-I guess.." She stepped into the bathroom, "I'm going to take a shower." 

Kazuha nodded. "All right," she replied, walking back into the livingroom.

Heiji was in the kitchen, cleaning everybody's plates in the sink. Once done, he turned back around to the living room to find Kazuha. "Oh.. Hey..." he said, stopping in the doorway.

Kazuha sat back down on the couch looking up at Heiji. "Oh, h-hey," she said, rolling her eyes up to the ceiling.

He turned away and smiled. Suddenly holding back no inhibitions and without any warning at all, he ran forward and pounced at her on the couch. Holding her in his arms, he let out a little laugh. "Hehe.. Got you!" He sat there and gave her a cheesy smile.

"Umph!" she breathed through the cushion of the couch. She rolled her way up to see his smile. "Y-You have changed, Heiji," she said, giggling with a smile, "Especially when no one else knows you're doing this."

"Well, maybe that's the point. Maybe it's just all.. for you." He smiled at her admiringly. "_Gosh, she's cute up close.._" he thought, admiring every little beauty mark to every tiny strand of hair.

Kazuha giggled, with a soft pink across her cheeks. She sneezed, almost sounding like a loud, "squeek!", then curled her body.

Down the hallway, Heiji heard the water shut off. He backed off of Kazuha and simply sat next to her. "I wonder what we'll be doing today.." he pondered out loud.

Ran walked out in the livingroom, "I'm going to take a nap.." She walked towards her room, closing the door behind her. 

Kazuha rose a brow as she watched her walk away, "A-Alright.."

--------------End Chapter 19--------------


	20. Worsened Conditions

--Chapter 20: Worsened Conditions--

Back in his room, Conan stirred again. He was feeling worse than he felt before. He got up out of his little bed and tried to feel his way along the wall toward the bathroom. Now he had a headache as well, and with every step he took another _POUND_ went across his temples. "Ohh..." he moaned, holding his head with his other hand, stopping right outside of the bathroom door.

Kazuha got up, hearing Conan. She walked over to him and knelt down. "A-Are you okay? You look pale, kid." She felt his head. "You're feeling warmer, go back to bed." Gently putting her hand on his back, she lead him into his room, and before shutting the door, she looked down at him. "Call me if you need anything." She then walked down the hallway and into the livingroom.

"But Kazuha-neechan!" he started, but she had already walked away, "...I have to use the bathroom..." He sighed, a sudden dizzy spell almost knocking him over. "_What am I going to do?_" he asked himself. He then slowly opened the door, and quietly, carefully, continued his way back.

"What was that about?" Heiji asked upon Kazuha's return.

She shrugged, "He's still feeling warm." She sat back down on the opposite side of the couch, leaning back. "Poor Ran-chan, she worries herself so much for that boy," she said, putting her hands behind her head and looking at the ceiling.

Heiji's expression grew worried. He remembered that the drug from the other day was only experimental. "Are you sure he's okay?"

Down the hall, Conan managed to get by without too much trouble. He headed back to his room, still clutching the wall. He walked in front of Ran's room, clinging to her door. But one more dizzy spell, and he kneeled down to the floor, holding his head and taking deep breaths. "_What's going on today?!_"

Kazuha sat down, sitting on the opposite side of the room from Heiji. Looking up at the ceiling, she gave into thought. "Our visit here, hasn't been the same as usual." she stopped, rubbing the back of her head embarrassingly, "Well, I-I mean how it all leads up to Nagi, and Kogoro. How was Kogoro involved with the situation, and how was Nagi captured?" She sighed, slumped back against the couch, she twirled a piece of hair from her bangs. She looked over at Heiji.

He raised an eyebrow, watching her. "You're right.. Geez, I wonder if it was even a good idea to send him out like that this morning, even if the little squirt IS sick.." He turned out the window to peer down at the empty street.

Kazuha kicked up her legs, sitting up. She rubbed her head, "Poor Ran, she must have a lot of things on her mind. I mean, with what has been happening lately." she turned towards Heiji, "Y'know?"

He smiled a little and looked down. "Y-Yeah." He then suddenly perked up, "She's still sleeping, isn't she? You think there's anything we can do to surprise her before she comes back out?"

Still in the hallway, Conan tried to regain his balance. He managed to stand up again, but the house felt like it was spinning in circles.

Putting her pointer finger against her cheek, Kazuha gave a thought to his reply. "Y'know, that sounds pretty smart!" she jumped up excitedly. Running into the kitchen, she rolled up her sleeves, "I'll make a dinner just for Ran-chan." She nodded to her own offer, but then stopped, remembering she couldn't really cook that well. Walking out of the kitchen, she hunched her back. "I... I think I'll go out to the store and purchase a cake, er..something," she insisted, almost muttering.

Heiji blinked for a moment at her. "Haha, aww, Kazuha." He got up and grabbed her wrist as she approached the door. "No, I'm sure we can figure something out. At the least there's probably some parboiled rice in the pantry. There's almost no way to mess that stuff up." He turned around and started toward the kitchen.

Blinking for a moment, she shrugged. "Neh, I guess you're right." She smiled, following him into the kitchen. "S-Should I go check on Conan? I think earlier today he REALLY wasn't feeling well," she asked with concern in her tone.

Heiji turned around to her. "Actually, that's a good idea. You want me to get the water started?" he asked, pointing to the stove.

Kazuha nodded. Clapping her hands, she lifted them up to her forehead. "I'll be back," she said, turning around and running off down the hallway. Quietly opening the door, she glanced around in the dark room. "Conan?" she asked, stepping in.

After managing his way down the hall, Conan had finally been able to reach his room again. As soon as he entered the door, he fell to the ground and was out like a light.

_THUMP!_ Kazuha jumped up in surprise. Turning around, she looked down to see Conan lying on the ground. "C-Conan!" she yelled out, kneeling down to him. She picked him up, "Heiji!"

"Huh?" Heiji mumbled, as he set down a measuring cup filled with rice and dashed across the kitchen. "Is something wrong?" he called down the hallway.

"It's Conan," she stated, looking down at the eight year old who fell helplessly in her arms.

Ran walked out, rubbing her eyes. "Mmm? W-What's going on?" she muttered, still half awake. She looked down at Conan, "C-Conan? Conan!" She quickly knelt down to him, "W-What happened? I haven't been asleep for too long..."

Heiji stepped into the doorway. "Ah! Is he all right?!" He rushed over to Kazuha and stared at the kid. "Oi! Wake up!" But Conan didn't stir. Heiji kept staring at him, feeling increasingly more guilty every minute.

Feeling his forehead, Ran nearly jumped back. "He's burning up," she said, almost startled. She got up, making her way into the kitchen almost tripping over the carpet. Running back to Conan she knelt down to him, slowly putting a teaspoon of medicine in his mouth. "Sit him up so he won't choke." Kazuha sat him up, as the syrup slowly reached down his throat.

Conan then woke up, coughing as he was made to swallow the medicine. "Bleh, this stuff again?" He then opened his eyes and looked up at all the worried faces around him. "Ahh.." he was going to speak but stopped himself, closing his eyes again and putting his hand over them. He leaned back into Kazuha's arms. "Can you guys stop moving around so much?..." he groaned.

Ran smiled in relief, she came closer to Conan gently pushing her cheek against his. "Thank goodness, don't scare us like that again," she whispered. She got up, looking down at him with a smile, "Kazuha, can you stay here with Conan? I'm going to go make him some tea." Of course, Kazuha nodded in reply 'yes'. Soon after making the Chinese tea, she walked back and handed it to Conan."This should make you feel better."

Conan stayed leaning back as he took the tea from Ran. His eyes still closed, he took just a sip before putting the mug down beside him. Heiji stepped closer and whispered to him. "Hey, are you okay?"

Conan peeked open a single eye to glance at him. "Do I look okay?"

"Ah, ha ha.. heh..." Heiji couldn't ignore the obvious. "Well, do you think we should go see Agasa then? He might be able to help you."

Conan put his hand back up to his head and turned aside. "I-I don't know..."

Kazuha got up, still carrying Conan. She sat him on the couch. Ran grabbed the mug. "I'll go get you some more," she said, walking into the kitchen. Kazuha followed Ran from behind.

Closing the curtains behind her she looked at Ran, "Oi, Ran. Isn't it pretty weird how Conan usually does this?"

Ran poured more of the tea from the kettle. "Does what?" she asked, looking at Kazuha, confused.

Kazuha rubbed the back of her head, "How he just randomly passes out."

Ran shrugged, "He's a kid, Kazuha. What do you expect? I was a bit like him when I was little." She walked back into the livingroom.

Conan pulled a pillow over and set it behind his head. He was now feeling nauseous every time he moved it too quickly. He could feel little beads of sweat on his forehead, but didn't know what it could mean.

Heiji remained in the bedroom even after the rest had left. He closed the door behind them and pulled out his cell phone. "Yeah, is that Haibara girl there?..."

Ran fell beside Conan. Looking at him, she felt his forehead once more. "Mmm.." she whined quietly. Looking at Kazuha, she sighed. "He's still really warm." Kazuha exhaled as well, handing Ran a cold wash cloth, Ran gently set it on Conan's head and took off his glasses.

Conan squeezed his eyes shut tightly and made a little moan. He put his hands up and held the wash cloth in place. "Th-Thanks," he managed to say. He slowly opened his eyes and adjusted them to the room. "H-Hey, where's Hattor- I mean, Heiji-niichan?" He would have smacked himself if he didn't already hurt so bad.

Kazuha glanced up at the room. "I thought he was in here.." She got up, walking to the room. She whispered against the door, "H-Heiji?"

Ran gently set his glasses on the table beside her, she rested her head in her arms. "Get better, okay?" she asked, with no sign of a smile in her face. Just concern.

"So, this is just one of the side effects and it will pass?" Heiji spoke into the phone.

"_Yeah, don't worry. I used an 'agitator' ingredient to help further along a sickness, in case it helps him stay transformed longer. Just give him a little time and it should pass. Up to another day, at most,_" Ai drawled.

"ANOTHER DAY?! Ah.. Well, I guess he'll get through it. Thanks for the info," said Heiji, without emotion.

"No, thank YOU for the feedback," replied Ai, hanging up. Heiji sighed and put the phone back into his pocket.

"Heiji?" Kazuha asked through the other side of the door.

Heiji jumped. "K-Kazuha!?" He opened the door to end up right in her face. "Ah ahh... Uhh.. Hi!" He stood there awkwardly for a moment. "I umm.. I gotta go see the kid," he said quickly, slipping around her by going along the wall.

Ran tilted her head, watching Conan breath hastily. She turned away, looking outside the window. "Should I take you to the doctor, Conan?" she asked, turning her head back into his direction.

Conan listened to Ran. "N-No. It's okay..." He pulled his legs up to become more like a ball.

"Eh?" Watching Heiji walk off, she was speechless. More clueless. Did she hear him in conversation just moments ago? She sighed, leaning up against the wall and rubbing her head.

Ran nodded, getting up she slided her fingers through his hair. "I'll be right back." she walked off, passed Heiji.

Heiji turned quickly to make sure Ran had left. He then turned back to Conan and hissed into his ear. "Hey, I got good news. That girl said that this really is just a side effect, and it'll wear off within 24 hours."

Conan peeked at him through one half-opened eye. "Great. Another day of this." He tried to sigh, but ended up coughing instead.

Kazuha nudged Ran in she arm, before entering her room. "Ran, maybe we should go..."

Ran stopped her, putting a putting finger up against her lips. She noticed her cellphone was vibrating on the table. Picking it up, she answered quietly with Kazuha behind her. "Hello?" she sounded curious, seeing that it was a unknown caller.

_"Meet me at the park, 8, tonight."_

The call ended. Ran looked at Kazuha, "Who was it?" Kazuha asked.

Ran looked away, "I'm not sure, but he wants me to meet him at the park later tonight."

Kazuha closed the door behind her, "If you're going, you know I'll be going. Just in case."

Ran shook her head, setting the phone on her bed. "You're still injured Kazuha, it'd be best if we kept this a secret."

Kazuha took a step closer to Ran, "No. Whatever happens, we're in this together." she stated.

Ran sighed, rolling her eyes to the clock, "_6:10."_ She looked at Kazuha, nodding. Walking out in the livingroom she looked over at the couch and whispered to Heiji, "How's he doing?"

"He just now fell asleep again..." he responded quietly, standing up and turning to the girls. "Poor guy. But at least, I expect he should be better soon... So what are you girls up to?" he asked, noticing a certain alertness between Ran and Kazuha.

Kazuha turned her head, ignoring his question. She walked back into the room. Ran watched Kazuha walk away in the corner of her eyes. "She must be tired," she said, smiling nervously. Kazuha slammed the door, walking to Ran's bed, she snatched her cellphone to look up the most recent calls. _6:08: Unknown_. She threw it against the bed, she walked toward the window and looked out of it. "Come on Toyoma, who could set up a meeting just for Ran?" she quietly asked herself. Hitting her head, she squinted her eyes in deep thought.

Heiji watched her walk away, with a worried look on his face. "Mm.. That should be all... It has been another long day..."

"R..Ran-neechan?..." Conan muttered. He slowly sat up on the couch, still holding his head without his glasses.

Ran jumped up, out of her trance of watching Kazuha walk off. She looked over at Conan and grew a soft smile. "How are you feeling?" she asked, in a kind, gentle tone.

"A.. A little better.. I feel like going for a walk.." Conan said, hopping down onto the floor and balancing more easily. Heiji watched him.

"Are you crazy? What if you fall over again!?"

"I'll be fine..." Conan replied, taking his hand down and smiling up at Ran briefly. "Ran wouldn't let me fall. Besides, my legs need to be stretched a bit."

Ran was bit suprised to see him walking. She giggled, kneeling down to him, she gently rubbed the top of his head, "Mhm." Kazuha walked out of the room and into the kitchen. Pouring herself a cup of tea she sat down in a chair in the corner of the room. Ran got up, looking at Kazuha. "Ran and I will be leaving around late 7 later tonight. We have to go to the market," she quietly said. Kazuha looked away.

"You girls sure love that market, don't you?" Heiji peered at them.

"At 7 specifically? That's awfully weird, Ran-neechan," Conan blinked, gently turning to face them both.

Ran quickly jumped up, rubbing the back of her head. "Well, I guess they're having a sale around that time, and Kazuha and I would like to get there right on time." She turned toward Kazuha, "R-Right Kazuha?"

Kazuha smirked, sipping her tea, "Mhm."

Conan raised an eyebrow at them, as did Heiji. "Well, all right," Heiji admitted. "You girls should go get ready now." He stepped back into the kitchen to finish making the rice. "Looks like me and the kid will need to get by on our own for a bit, right Conan-kun?"

"Yeah," replied Conan, as he brought down the wash cloth and brushed the wet hair from his forehead.

Kazuha got up. Looking at Ran, she grabbed her arm and walked her into the room. Ran stumbled, following. Kazuha grabbed a baseball hat, putting her pony tail in it, then grabbed another hat and put it on Ran. "Make sure you put her hair in it."

Ran rose a brow, "O-Okay." After the process of getting ready, Kazuha looked out the door to see if Heiji and Conan were out in the living room, but they were still in the kitchen. "Okay, come on," she whispered, dragging Ran out the door and closing it behind her. Ran giggled.

"Y'know, Kazuha. They already knew we were going out."

Kazuha turned around, "Ran. What if they saw us dressed like this? Then they'd be even more suspicious."

Heiji finished with the rice and put it in a bowl. Conan sat at the kitchen table and peered at him. "Are they up to trouble again?" he referred to the girls.

"Nahh no way," said Heiji, somewhat nervously, "Kazuha wouldn't admit to a lie like that..."

Conan bent over the table and looked Heiji in the eyes. "So now you're all 'Mister Trusting'? Come on, you know they shouldn't need to go to the market EVERY DAY..."

"W-Well, it's just.. Maybe they DO! Haven't you ever thought of THAT possibility, Mister Great Detective of the East?..." Heiji exchanged with him an equally flat look. Conan merely sighed and poked at the rice with some chopsticks, still without an appetite.

--End Chapter 20--


	21. The Night Pursuit

--Chapter 21: The Night Pursuit--

The sun soon set, and before they knew it they were already at the park. Kazuha sat on the slide, while Ran sat on the swing nearest to her. "Do you hear that?" Ran asked, perking her head up and looking around. Kazuha sat up, hearing footsteps. The street light finally came on, revealing a hooded figure. Kazuha walked over to Ran, who was getting up.

Finally walking over to the two, he greeted them with a smile. "It's been, what. Two days now?" he asked, revealing his face. Ran almost fell back, as well as Kazuha.

"You!" Kazuha almost shouted.

Ran stepped infront of Kazuha. "Nagi.." she stated quietly, but seriously.

Nagi smirked and shrugged. "Took me a while to get out of that house, but I succeeded." He looked up at Ran, "I've come to warn you-"

Kazuha shoved him away, "How the heck should we believe you aren't here to harm us again!?" Nagi cleared his throat, looking at Ran, ignoring Kazuha. "You're targeted to be killed, soon... VERY soon, Mouri-san." Kazuha stopped, widening her eyes as she looked at Ran. Ran froze.

"Heh.." Ran quietly, but nervously, laughed at herself. Her expression showed it all: fear. She stumbled back. Catching her fall was the swing. She lowered her head, shadowing off the upper part of her face.

Kazuha released her grasp off Nagi. Stepping a few steps back, she turned toward Ran. "He could be lying Ran, don't believe it," she said, trying to force out a comforting smile, but failing miserably. She turned back to face Nagi, "He wouldn't be trying to help us. Not when he had attacked us the other night."

Nagi shook his head frantically. "You've got it all wrong, I didn't know what came over me. I just-" He paused, looking at Ran, he slowly walked over to her. Tears began to overflow his eyes. He fell to his knees and knelt over to her, resting his head on her lap. "P-Please believe me! I don't want you to die!" he yelled out, crying.

"_Hmm. I hope Kudo-kun gets through it soon enough. Maybe I should have toned down this a little more_..." pondered Ai, as she waved a vial in front of her face. She set it down on the desk in front of her and stood up. She walked up the stairs and down the hall. A few feet in front of her, a door was cracked open. Curious, she walked over to it and looked inside. Suddenly her eyes grew wide. "W-WHERE'D HE GO? PROFESSOR! PROFESSOR!!" She ran across the house, looking for him.

The professor and Ai were soon running out the door, tossing their coats on into the cool night. They hopped into his bright yellow beetle. "But where could he have gone?" Agasa asked, looking to Ai in the passenger seat.

"Ugh, I don't know! He was in his room earlier. Then he just.. disappeared!" She took a breath. "Okay well, first let's see if he went by Kudou's house. I'll call him up and see..." She took out a phone and started dialing.

Back at the house, the phone started ringing. Conan hopped down from his seat and hobbled over, the lingering effects of the medicine still on him. "Hello? WHAT?!"

Heiji stopped still, "What's wrong?!"

"Nagi's not at the Professor's anymore!"

"Oh... Crap..."

Ran got up, as Nagi slid down her legs with his hands. The wind began to pick up, leaving the three rather cold. But it wasn't because it was night, nor because it was windy. It was just the feeling. Kazuha waited for Ran to respond. "R-Ran?" she asked, tilting her head.

Ran lifted her head up to the sky, "Nagi." Nagi looked up, his tears soon became dry streaks against his cheeks. "Who is trying to kill me?.." she asked quietly, without expression. Kazuha looked around, hearing a old car noise coming closer, when looking at the car more closely she had noticed it was Agasa's.

She quickly grabbed Ran's and Nagi's hands and hurried beneath the playground, the street light far in the distance from them. "It's Agasa.." she stammered, hitting her head she shot a look at Nagi.

Agasa had stopped by Mouri's house, and now had Heiji and Conan in the backseat. "Any sign of him?" asked Ai, peering out the front window down every alleyway they passed.

"Not yet.." said Conan gently, as he glanced over the park, seeing nothing odd but a single swaying swing. "_Wait. Why is only one swing swaying?_" He turned to the front seat. "Professor! Stop the car!"

Hearing the car _screeeeech_ to a stop, Kazuha grabbed their hands again and jumped into the bushes on the other side of the park. Ran got up quietly, her hat blew off, revealing her long hair. She looked down at Nagi, "Can you run fast?"

Nagi cleared his throat, "Y-Yeah."

Ran nodded, "Good. Then you can carry Kazuha."

Kazuha nearly jumped up, "WHAT! No way-"

Ran covered her mouth to keep her quiet, "Like I said, Kazuha. You-are-still-injured." Kazuha rolled her eyes. Nagi put her on his back and began to run, soon heading into an alleyway.

Conan jumped out of the car and ran over to the swings, Heiji on his heels. Conan put his hand down on the swing. "They couldn't have gone too far. The seat is still warm."

Heiji nodded down to him and looked around. Agasa stayed in the car while Ai soon arrived behind Heiji. "I think I saw something move over there!" called Ai, pointing over by a fence.

"Okay, let's all split up and search, all right?" said Conan. With that, the three broke up and began looking around in the weak twilight.

They stopped at a nearby alley behind a restraunt. Nagi caught his breath, "W-Why are you doing this?" Ran panted, taking Kazuha's hand to help her off him.

"Because, if they find you...we're in trouble too."

Kazuha straightened out her skirt, "Yeah, but we have to deal with the situation you had just told us about Ran." Ran quietly and slowly looked down the dark streets of Tokyo, revealing only streetlights and a few bats flying over them. Nothing else but silence. "Did you see who was in the car, Kazuha?"

Kazuha shook her head, "I think I might've seen only... two? Two heads." Ran looked back and replied with a nod.

Conan approached the bush that they were previously hiding in, noting the broken branches and shoe prints. He looked up as a breeze blew his hair back. He suddenly realized that he still didn't have his glasses on. "_Gah! Hattori you fool, how could you not have told me?!_" He turned back to the other two across the playground. "Hey, I think they're down this way!" Heiji and Ai quickly rushed over. As soon as they arrived, Conan gave Heiji a swift smack on the arm.

"Ow! What was THAT for?"

"No time to explain, follow me," Conan then dashed ahead.

Kazuha froze. "Heiji?" She looked at Nagi, then at Ran. "Conan and Heiji?" She was just suprised to hear herself say it.

Ran ran over to the two, "You ready?" Nagi picked Kazuha up his back, then nodded. Ran looked ahead, "Keep going! We need to split up." They then ran off in different directions. Ran forked off and climbed up a ladder to the rooftop of an antique shop. Nagi, Kazuha still on his back, ran in bewteen apartment complexes.

The group turned down an alley then stopped. "_Where did they go?!_" Conan pondered, looking down the various places that they could have disappeared to. "I'm heading over here!" he called, running along the front of the antique shop.

"I'll go down here," said Heiji, pointing alongside some other stores.

"Then I guess I'll head down here," added Ai, pointing toward the apartments.

As much as it didn't seem like it, Ran was still afraid. Afraid of being killed. Afraid of being murdered. Afraid of dying. She sat down on the roof top, being as quiet as she could. She looked over the railing to see if they were still there. She accidentally slid her foot, causing a glass bottle to roll. She froze up. As much as it felt horrible to her, hiding from the others, she was still willing to go through this trouble to find out more information. To find out what she needs so she could live.

Less than 6 inches away from Conan, a bottle rolled down and crashed, shattering into tiny shards covering the road. He looked up, seeing a shadow move above him. "_Nagi!?_" he thought, as he hurried over to the emergency ladder and climbed up to the top.

As he reached the top and peered across, an image suddenly flashed through his head. It was Ran, standing on the other rooftop, stabbing herself in the stomach. Conan's eyes widened, as suddenly the thought and a new dizzy spell hit him. He lost his grip on the ladder and started falling backwards...

"Conan?" Ran quickly caught him, "C-Conan!" What a horrible time, a horrible time to pass out. She felt his head- It was burning, which didn't surprise her. She pulled him closer to her, as she sat up against the wall. "Come on Conan, wake up.." she mumbled.

Conan stirred slightly, opening his eyes wearily on the rooftop. "R-Ran?..." He sat up gently, putting his hand down beside him to keep him steady. "What.. What just happened?..." He looked around the gravely roof, a cool wind blowing by. He remembered the bottle falling, but after that wasn't sure if what he saw was a hallucination or for real. He picked up his other hand and reached forward to Ran's abdomen, finding no blood. He quickly pulled his hand away and looked up at her.

Slowly, she put her hand on his cheek. She almost felt like crying. For this was a moment she would treasure if she died. Looking away, she kept the tears locked in. She got up, gently setting him beside a wall, and stood.

Conan watched her. "Ran?..." He tried to get up and follow her, but stumbled yet again.

Ran quickly caught him. She looked down at him and gave him a warm smile. "You're a fool Conan," she said jokingly.

"What?.." Conan blinked, staring at her as the wind blew her hair across her face.

Ran kissed the top of Conan's forehead, "You shouldn't have come out here. You're sick." She grabbed him, hugging him in a warm and tender embrace. She giggled softly into his ear.

Conan didn't know what to say. He relaxed in Ran's arms, letting himself be enveloped in her warmth.

"Do you hear that!?" Nagi whispered loudly, running, carrying Kazuha.

He quickly turned around, suddenly stumbling and falling, causing Kazuha to fall hard on the ground with all his weight on top of her, "Ugh!"

"Found you," Ai remarked, suddenly appearing beside Nagi and Kazuha. "So.." she grabbed him by the collar, "You mind explaining your little evening adventure now? Or would you rather the police.. or the Black Org... take care of you?" Her eyes narrowed menacingly into his.

Nagi shoved her away. "I'm not causing any trouble! I'm simply helping...-" he looked over at Kazuha, who was trying to keep her balance. She fell back down against the wall.

"Are you really, Nagi?" asked Ai, letting go as she was shoved. "I don't see what there is to be so secretive about if you're just helping us... I seem to recall somebody of that name before, too. Let me just say, he would _never_ be so helpful." Her face was poison as she stared into his eyes.

Nagi blinked. "Of course I am, you fool!" he shouted. He was tired of feeling betrayed. He quickly turned to Kazuha, grabbing her by the hand as she was still trying to recuperate from the fall. He threw her over his back.

"W-Wait!" she yelled out, pulling his hair, "You idiot!" She kneed him in the back, and they both fell again. Kazuha landed on her face. "You're only in this situation for telling Ran that someone was out to kill her!" she yelled, shoving him up against the wall. "You listen here, and you listen good, Nagi. I'm tired of this drama. It's depressing me, Ran, and everyone else around us. Either you come clean right now, or I'll make you." Kazuha demanded with an angered expression. Nagi was speechless.

Ai stood with a serious look, peering at Nagi. She took a firm step forward. "Spill it. Now..." Around the corner appeared Heiji, having heard the commotion and found his way there.

Nagi smirked. Looking at Kazuha, he came closer to her, "Too bad. I was having fun, acting out a person who's already dead." He kissed Kazuha hard and long until she shoved him away. She covered her mouth, shocked, until finally she looked up at him from her knees. He grinned, kneeling down to her he ran his fingers through her hair. She was in a trance. He got up, pulling the mask off. "Too bad it had to end so quickly," Vermouth pouted. Taking a step back, she pulled out a small hand gun, pointing at them all. "Now, if you don't mind..." A black Porche pulled up behind them, "I must take my leave." She smirked, running passed Ai and jumping into the car.

Kazuha slowly got up, silent. "S-So wait... That wasn't the real Nagi?..."

"I knew it," quietly commented Ai. "Most likely, Nagi was actually her all along. Nagi would never feel sympathy for another person.. Although he did tend to obsess over particular women at times..."

Kazuha looked over to the girl, "What are you TALKING about?"

Ai blinked, "Oh! Umm. The real Nagi was my... neighbor, once. So I know a lot about him."

"Oh," replied Kazuha.

Ai turned over to Heiji. "It would be odd if Nagi was ordered to be killed. He was one of the best workers the Black Org ever had. But it would be even odder if he let Vermouth act for him for such a long time. There's only one explanation..."

"You mean, the real Nagi's dead, but not by an order?" Heiji's eyes widened. Kazuha overheard him.

"Then.. It all makes sense! Well, maybe the real Nagi was dressed as the blonde guy... You know, the one that ordered the fake Nagi's death. The one in the car there!" She pointed to the Porsche, now driving away, a totally healthy Gin in the driver's seat. He glanced at Ai in the mirror and sent her an evil grin, before disappearing into the night. "He didn't seem to react to our appearance. If he remembered us being around when Ran stabbed him, I expect he would act differently..." She blinked for a moment. "So wait... Nagi's dead... I guess he died shortly after that incident... But that lady... She helped us.." Kazuha didn't know how to react. She fell to her knees, unsure of what she should do next.

"S-So wait. Let me get this straight. Nagi was the one that Ran injured and subsequently killed when she stabbed herself. Meanwhile, the person she saved was actually... _HER_?!" Heiji stared as the car drove away, in total shock. "S-So.. H-He... No, she was... one of them?..." He blinked as Ai stood frozen, unable to respond. Heiji's eyes slowly drifted over to Kazuha. "KAZUHA!" he screamed, lunging toward her and grabbing her tightly. "They could have got you and killed.. They could have... They... And you might have..." A few silver tears rolled down his cheeks, dripping onto her shoulders.

Kazuha sat there, quiet, not quite understanding the full impact of being around a Black Org member for so long. Feeling the caring embrace of Heiji's hold, she just sat there. After a minute or two, she gently pulled her head out of his chest and looked up at him. Seeing that he had tears, she released a warm, comforting smile. She wiped his tears away and giggled softly. "_Heiji crying? I'll keep this moment for later,_" she thought.

"_The only question..._" Ai pondered in her mind, "_Is why Vermouth went through all this trouble just to warn, and maybe even protect, Ran..._" She stared up into the sky, watching a few clouds pass over the stars. "_But then again, she's an odd one. Maybe she didn't mean to act when she was originally dressed as Nagi... If I know the true Nagi, it's much more likely that he tricked her into dressing as him in order to deliberately kill her. I guess he didn't plan on Ran's kind heart... Saving that woman... Twice._"

--End Chapter 21--


	22. A Bit More Pondering

--Chapter 22: A Bit More Pondering--

During the time she and Conan were up on the rooftop, Ran felt almost like she was looking right at Shinichi. She felt since Conan didn't have his glasses, he WAS Shinichi. Her childhood friend, her best friend, her true love. She looked away, trying to get the image out of her mind. "i_No No NO! He's just a kid, why think such things, Mouri!?/i_" she asked herself in her head.

Conan slowly turned his head up and looked at Ran. He blinked inquisitively, matching his eyes to hers. "Ran?..."

Ran smiled, "We should go Conan." She cleared her throat and knelt down, pulling him onto her back. "I'm sure the others are fine right now," she said, trying to change the subject. After climbing down the ladder, she gently hopped down and looked back at Conan. "You okay?"

Conan looked at Ran. "I-I don't know." He coughed. Looking around, he saw a black porsche cruise by, a couple of burning cigarette butts glowing in the windows. "Let's just go find the others," he responded.

Heiji let go slightly and looked into Kazuha's face. "_Silly girl. She has no idea how close she just came to... to..._" He sniffled, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Oh Kazuha... I love you," he slipped, unable to keep his words back.

Kazuha's eyes opened widely, she was flushed. She turned away and scratched the side of her face, then looked back into his eyes. "H-Heiji.." she said quietly, becoming even redder when she realized how close she was to him.

Ai pondered on the situation. Shock suddenly shot through her as she realized now just how close she was to Vermouth. "_She was in the house... She knows its layout... She knows my habits! She knows everything she needs to get me..._" She turned over to Heiji and Kazuha, having nothing more to say. "So she... now... she can..." She merely stuttered, looking like an adorable 7 year old, when in fact her mind was racing.

Heiji tilted his head slightly, noting Kazuha's redness. "_She's so cute when she's nervous..._" He sighed and gave her one last squeeze, before breaking off and turning to Ai. "I guess.. We need to be more careful from now on, then... don't we?" he told her, not quite understanding the reason for Ai's new worries. She just stared at him.

Ran nodded. "Y-Yeah." Walking back to the others, Ran looked down at Kazuha and Heiji, seeing how close they were. She shot a grin at Kazuha. "Oi.." she muttered.

Kazuha quickly got up, straightening out her skirt, she blushed. "R-Ran, you're okay!"

Ran nodded, setting down Conan. She looked around, "What happened to Nagi?" Kazuha sighed, patting her back. "It's a long story," she said, rolling her eyes.

Conan noted Ai's rigidness. He hopped down and over to her, whispering, "Haibara? What happened?"

Ai turned to the others frightenedly, then back to Conan. "V-Vermouth was living here... She's who N-Nagi actually w-was. The true Nagi was actually dead all along... I kn-knew it couldn't be him... But she was living with us!" She grabbed Conan's shirt desperately, whispering worriedly, "Vermouth was living with us all along. I didn't know it was her. She was in the house... She saw me... Her and Gin were just here.. and they... they..."

"They didn't hurt you..." blinked Conan. Ai glanced back at him.

"Yeah... I wonder if it had anything to do with them..." she looked back at the group behind them.

Ran stood quietly. The only light that everyone kept from everyone seeing each other well was the flickering streetlight hanging over head. She knew something had happened. But what? She could tell on Ai's, Kazuha's, everyone's faces. She simply looked away, focusing her eyes to the ground. Still sitting in the same position she had been in, Kazuha looked up at Ran. She leaned over and whispered the situation to her. After figuring out what had been happening, it seemed as if Ran understood what she had done to the real Nagi from before.

Or did she? Kazuha cleared her throat. Turning away, she looked at her hand, scraped-up from the fall. She smirked, not even noticing the stinging pain it had given her.

Conan turned back to Ran. He knew Vermouth was simply acting Nagi's part all along, meaning that everything she did were things that the true Nagi would have done. "_Except..._" he glanced between Ran and Kazuha, Kazuha and Ai, then back from Ai to Ran... "_She.. sympathized_."

Heiji looked down at Conan, realizing the same thing. With a small smile he looked off to the road, "_So she actually SAVED Kazuha_..."

Kazuha slowly got up, her hands releasing Heiji's. Her head face down as she slowly walked to Ran. Ran caught her eye, then before she knew it, she was in a tight hold. They hugged, both falling to their knees Kazuha still clinging to her. Ran stared off, "K-Kazuha.." she said, in a startled tone. Kazuha turned her head to Ran's, meeting with her eyes. She smiled.

As the boys stood around watching, Conan got a call on his cellphone. He pulled it out of his pocket, "Hello?"

"Shinichi! Is everything all right!? I could swear I just saw the car of-" the Professor started.

"Yeah, yeah. It did look like Gin's car. But everyone's safe, don't worry," he looked around to the group. "Hey, do you think you could come pick us up? We're about five blocks east now."

The Professor agreed and drove over, finding them pretty quickly.

Upon getting home, the girls were both unsure how they should talk to each other, or even to anybody else for that matter. When walking into the apartment, Kazuha quickly phoned her Dad. She walked out of the room, closing her cellphone, and gave a long sigh. "They postponed our flight in two weeks. Guess we'll be staying for a while longer," she smirked.

"That's great! I can give you more cooking skill tips," Ran grinned, nudging Kazuha in the arm.

Kazuha rose a brow, "C-Cooking tips?" She noticed Ran's Dad, finally coming home at midnight, quickly running over to his desk to snooze off.

Ran grew a sweat drop. "Uh. Guess we should go to bed?" she offered.

Kazuha shrugged. "Guess we should." Kazuha looked over at Heiji, "Let's go-" she stopped. Blushing furiously, she turned away and stumbled down the hallway into the spare bedroom. She remembered what he had said to her earlier tonight.

Heiji blushed as well, watching Kazuha zip off down the hall. "S-Silly girl..." he muttered, looking down at Conan. Conan breathed a long sigh as the two entered his room.

Conan climbed into his bed and lay back, his hands behind his head. "That.. was CRAZY..."

Heiji relaxed into his own blankets as well. "Yeah, but Vermouth was amazingly helpful again. At least, as helpful as someone in a large crime organization can be. The thing I'm worried about, though, is how this will affect Kazuha. She seemed to understand everything so well, even though she shouldn't know about the Black Org. What if she starts putting the pieces together and somehow relating it to you.. and to me knowing about you.."

Conan scoffed, "I think you're just a bit paranoid. Though it isn't impossible that she understands that the Black Org exists, I highly doubt she would ever think we were affected by it. Relax, okay?"

Heiji looked down, "I guess you're right... You always know how to put me back in my place, you know that, Kudou?... Hey?... Kudou?" But Conan was already asleep. Heiji flattened his brow, "All right then, don't accept the compliment. Neh, goodnight." He reached over and turned off the lamp, going to sleep, himself.

While Ran settled into her bed, Kazuha was at the windowsill again. This time it wasn't snowing, but raining. She exhaled deeply, lost in thought. Sitting in a dark room by herself wasn't so comforting, but it was helpful. This way, she can sit quietly and not be bothered before soon falling asleep.

--End Chapter 22--


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